Creative Research Center for Brain Science, Brain Science Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea.
Department of HY-KIST Bio-Convergence, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea.
Molecules. 2022 Aug 10;27(16):5088. doi: 10.3390/molecules27165088.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by diverse behavioral symptoms such as repetitive behaviors, social deficits, anxiety, hyperactivity, and irritability. Despite their increasing incidence, the specific pathological mechanisms of ASD are still unknown, and the degree and types of symptoms that vary from patient to patient make it difficult to develop drugs that target the core symptoms of ASD. Although various atypical antipsychotics and antidepressants have been applied to regulate ASD symptoms, these drugs can only alleviate the symptoms and do not target the major causes. Therefore, development of novel drugs targeting factors directly related to the onset of ASD is required. Among the various factors related to the onset of ASD, several chemical modulators to treat ASD, focused on serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and glutamate receptors, microbial metabolites, and inflammatory cytokines, are explored in this study. In particular, we focus on the chemical drugs that have improved various aspects of ASD symptoms in animal models and in clinical trials for various ages of patients with ASD.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种神经发育障碍，其特征是表现出多种行为症状，如重复行为、社交缺陷、焦虑、多动和易怒。尽管自闭症的发病率不断上升，但自闭症的具体病理机制仍不清楚，而且每个患者的症状程度和类型各不相同，这使得针对自闭症核心症状的药物难以开发。尽管各种非典型抗精神病药和抗抑郁药已被应用于调节自闭症症状，但这些药物只能缓解症状，而不能针对主要病因。因此，需要开发针对与自闭症发病直接相关的新型药物。在与自闭症发病相关的各种因素中，本研究探索了几种针对治疗自闭症的化学调节剂，重点是 5-羟色胺（5-hydroxytryptamine，5-HT）和谷氨酸受体、微生物代谢物和炎症细胞因子。特别是，我们关注了在动物模型和自闭症各年龄段患者的临床试验中改善了自闭症症状各个方面的化学药物。
