Mollajani Raheleh, Joghataei Mohamad Taghi, Tehrani-Doost Mehdi, Khosrowabadi Reza
Neuroscience Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Institute for Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran, Iran.
Basic Clin Neurosci. 2025 Jan-Feb;16(1):65-80. doi: 10.32598/bcn.2023.3978.1. Epub 2025 Jan 1.
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have impairments in emotion processing, including recognizing facial emotions. There is a significant need for medication to improve core symptoms of ASD. Bumetanide is one of the most recently used drugs in some studies of ASD to address this need. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of bumetanide on the brain response of youth with ASD while they were recognizing facial emotions using the event-related potentials (ERPs).
Fifteen children with ASD aged between 7 to 16 years were evaluated using the childhood autism rating scale (CARS), schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school-age children-present and lifetime version, social responsiveness scale, Wechsler intelligence scale for children-revised form, and standard blood tests. The electrical brain response was measured while they were doing a facial emotion recognition task (FERT). After 3 months of treatment, they were assessed again regarding core symptoms and ERPs.
The behavioral problems of the participants decreased significantly based on CARS. With regard to behavioral performance on FERT, the accuracy of detecting emotions increased, and reaction time decreased significantly. The amplitude of N170, EPN, and N250 increased, and latency for N170 and N250 decreased significantly in some electrodes. There were no serious side effects.
In this study, bumetanide improved behavioral symptoms and recognition of facial emotions. Also, brain function was improved based on the ERP components. So, bumetanide can be used safely in children and adolescents with ASD to improve the main symptoms of the disorder.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者在情绪处理方面存在缺陷，包括识别面部情绪。迫切需要药物来改善ASD的核心症状。布美他尼是最近在一些ASD研究中用于满足这一需求的药物之一。本研究旨在使用事件相关电位（ERP）评估布美他尼对患有ASD的青少年在识别面部情绪时大脑反应的影响。
使用儿童自闭症评定量表（CARS）、学龄儿童情感障碍和精神分裂症量表（现患和终生版）、社会反应量表、韦氏儿童智力量表修订版以及标准血液检查对15名年龄在7至16岁之间的ASD儿童进行评估。在他们进行面部情绪识别任务（FERT）时测量脑电反应。治疗3个月后，再次评估他们的核心症状和ERP。
根据CARS，参与者的行为问题显著减少。关于FERT的行为表现，情绪检测的准确性提高，反应时间显著缩短。在一些电极上，N170、EPN和N250的波幅增加，N170和N250的潜伏期显著缩短。没有严重的副作用。
在本研究中，布美他尼改善了行为症状和面部情绪识别能力。此外，基于ERP成分，脑功能也得到了改善。因此，布美他尼可安全用于患有ASD的儿童和青少年，以改善该疾病的主要症状。
