Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Medical Faculty, İzmir Katip Çelebi University, İzmir, Turkey.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department, Medical Faculty, Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey.
Compr Psychiatry. 2018 Nov;87:138-142. doi: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2018.10.006. Epub 2018 Oct 29.
In attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), deteriorations of brain gut axis has been shown in previous studies. One area where the most important challenges are seen in ADHD is social functioning. Zonulin is a protein found in the intestinal intraepithelial component; it has been shown that the level of zonulin increases when intestinal permeability is impaired. Changes in intestinal function were shown in ADHD. Zonulin has been shown to be associated with social impairment in children with autism spectrum disorder. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the relationship between the ADHD symptoms and zonulin in children with ADHD. Secondarily relation of zonulin and difficulties in social functioning was examined in these children.
Forty children diagnosed with ADHD and forty-one healthy children similar age and gender to ADHD group and their mothers were included in the study. Children without any chronic systemic immunological or infectious diseases were included in the case and control group. The ADHD symptoms were scored by the DuPaul ADHD scale and the social functioning of the children was assessed by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Serum zonulin levels were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Children with ADHD had higher serum zonulin levels and were more impaired in social functioning compared to controls. The level of zonulin was independently predicted with hyperactivity symptoms and SRS scores in regression analysis.
In this sample of children with ADHD, elevated zonulin levels were associated with increased symptoms of hyperactivity and impairment of social functioning.
在注意缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）中，先前的研究已经表明了大脑肠道轴的恶化。在 ADHD 中，一个最重要的挑战领域是社交功能。肠上皮细胞内的一种蛋白质——紧密连接蛋白（zonulin），当肠道通透性受损时，其水平会升高。ADHD 患者的肠道功能发生了变化。已经表明，zonulin 与自闭症谱系障碍儿童的社交障碍有关。在这项研究中，旨在评估 ADHD 儿童的 ADHD 症状与 zonulin 之间的关系。其次，在这些儿童中检查了 zonulin 与社交功能障碍的关系。
本研究纳入了 40 名被诊断为 ADHD 的儿童和 41 名年龄和性别与 ADHD 组相似的健康儿童及其母亲。患有任何慢性系统性免疫或感染性疾病的儿童不被纳入病例和对照组。采用 DuPaul ADHD 量表对儿童的 ADHD 症状进行评分，采用社会反应量表（SRS）评估儿童的社交功能。采用酶联免疫吸附试验分析血清 zonulin 水平。
与对照组相比，ADHD 儿童的血清 zonulin 水平更高，社交功能障碍更严重。回归分析显示，zonulin 水平与多动症状和 SRS 评分独立相关。
在本样本的 ADHD 儿童中，升高的 zonulin 水平与多动症状增加和社交功能障碍有关。
