Enstrom Amanda M, Van de Water Judy A, Ashwood Paul
University of California at Davis, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology/UC Davis MIND Institute, 2805 50th Street, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2009 May;10(5):463-73.
Autism spectrum disorders is a heterogenous group of neurodevelopmental disorders, the etiology or etiologies of which remain unknown. Increasing evidence of autoimmune phenomena in individuals with autism could represent the presence of altered or inappropriate immune responses in this disorder, and this immune system dysfunction may represent novel targets for treatment. Furthermore, in recent studies, antibodies directed against the fetal brain have been detected in some mothers of children with autism; these antibodies have the ability to alter behavioral outcomes in the offspring of animal models. A better understanding of the involvement of the immune response in early brain development, with respect to autism, may have important therapeutic implications.
自闭症谱系障碍是一组异质性的神经发育障碍,其病因仍不清楚。越来越多的证据表明自闭症患者存在自身免疫现象,这可能意味着该疾病中存在改变或不适当的免疫反应,而这种免疫系统功能障碍可能是新的治疗靶点。此外,在最近的研究中,在一些自闭症儿童的母亲体内检测到了针对胎儿大脑的抗体;这些抗体能够改变动物模型后代的行为结果。更好地理解免疫反应在自闭症早期大脑发育中的作用,可能具有重要的治疗意义。