maria mexitalia

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children are characterized by increased proinflammatory agents. Previous studies found that administration of selenium can reduce inflammation; however, those studies were conducted on ASD mice model, and no study was conducted on the ASD patients. It is suspected that selenium could improve the development of ASD children by decreasing inflammation.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of selenium on inflammatory status in ASD children.

This study was a randomized control trial. A total of 66 ASD children were selected and were randomly allocated to the first selenium intervention group (n=22), second selenium intervention group (n=22), and group control (n=22). Selenium as functional food and supplement was given to the intervention group for three months. The inflammatory state was measured by IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α serum. The ASD severity was measured by the autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC). Moreover, the intention-to-treat analysis was used in this study. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare before and after the intervention and Kruskal-Wallis test to compare the changes after the intervention.

Based on findings of the present research, some insignificant changes in IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α were observed in the selenium intervention and control groups. The selenium intervention groups experienced a significant decrease in ATEC scores compared to the control group (P<0.05).

Implications for Practice:

 Although selenium did not decrease inflammatory status in ASD children, it could decrease the ASD severity. Appropriate interventions are needed to improve the inflammation in ASD children.

Birth weight is very important for long-term physical, mental, health, and brain development. Pesticide exposure is thought to interfere with fetal growth, among others, through disruption of the function of the insulin-like growth hormone-1 (IGF-1) hormone.

To analyze the relationship between exposure to pesticides during pregnancy and low-birth weight (LBW) through the disruption of the IGF-1 hormone.

In a case-control study, babies born with LBW (birth weight <2500 g) and those born later with normal birth weight (≥2500 g) at 2 hospitals in Brebes were chosen as cases and controls, respectively. Maternal pesticide exposure was measured by interview using a questionnaire. Umbilical serum IGF-I level was tested using the ELISA method.

There was a significant relationship between pesticide exposure during pregnancy and LBW (OR 6.8; 95% CI 2.0 to 22.9) and low umbilical serum IGF-1 levels (OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.2 to 11.1). There was a significant relationship between low umbilical serum IGF-1 levels and LBW (OR 8.9; 95% CI 2.4 to 32.1).

There was a significant relationship between pesticide exposure during pregnancy and LBW through the umbilical serum IGF-1 reduction pathway