Abnormal circadian rhythm and cortisol excretion in autistic children: a clinical study

Priya, Malarveni Damodaran Lakshmi; Geetha, A; Suganya, Vijayashankar; Sujatha, Sridharan

doi:10.3325/cmj.2013.54.33

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…However, we cannot exclude the possibility of altered diurnal cortisol rhythms in autism. Lakshmi Priya et al [ 40 ] observed such disturbances along with raised cortisol levels in autistic Indian children, but their patient population was demographically more diverse than ours; primarily their most affected low functioning group was undernourished, which could have contributed to augmented cortisol secretion (our patients did not have this problem).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Marked elevation of adrenal steroids, especially androgens, in saliva of prepubertal autistic children

Majewska

Hill

Urbanowicz

et al. 2013

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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Autism is diagnosed on the basis of behavioral manifestations, but its biomarkers are not well defined. A strong gender bias typifying autism (it is 4–5 times more prevalent in males) suggests involvement of steroid hormones in autism pathobiology. In order to evaluate the potential roles of such hormones in autism, we compared the salivary levels of 22 steroids in prepubertal autistic male and female children from two age groups (3–4 and 7–9 years old) with those in healthy controls. The steroids were analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and radioimmunoassay. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) revealed that autistic children had significantly higher salivary concentrations of many steroid hormones (both C21 and C19) than control children. These anomalies were more prominent in older autistic children and in boys. The levels of androgens (androstenediol, dehydroepiandrosterone, androsterone and their polar conjugates) were especially increased, indicative of precocious adrenarche and predictive of early puberty. The concentrations of the steroid precursor, pregnenolone, and of several pregnanolones were also higher in autistic than in healthy children, but cortisol levels were not different. Some steroids, whose levels are raised in autism (allopregnanolone, androsterone, pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone and their sulfate conjugates) are neuroactive and modulate GABA, glutamate, and opioid neurotransmission, affecting brain development and functioning. These steroids may contribute to autism pathobiology and symptoms such as elevated anxiety, sleep disturbances, sensory deficits, and stereotypies among others. We suggest that salivary levels of selected steroids may serve as biomarkers of autism pathology useful for monitoring the progress of therapy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00787-013-0472-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Marked elevation of adrenal steroids, especially androgens, in saliva of prepubertal autistic children

Majewska

Hill

Urbanowicz

et al. 2013

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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“…Autistic children are known to have lower daytime and nighttime levels of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin, which correlate with severity of their language and social interaction impairments and the repetitive use of objects (for review see Tordjman et al, 2013 ). Their performance is also correlated with high excretion rate of cortisol and several other circadian corticosteroids (Lakshmi Priya et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A novel automated behavioral test battery assessing cognitive rigidity in two genetic mouse models of autism

Puścian

Łęski

Górkiewicz

et al. 2014

Front. Behav. Neurosci.

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Repetitive behaviors are a key feature of many pervasive developmental disorders, such as autism. As a heterogeneous group of symptoms, repetitive behaviors are conceptualized into two main subgroups: sensory/motor (lower-order) and cognitive rigidity (higher-order). Although lower-order repetitive behaviors are measured in mouse models in several paradigms, so far there have been no high-throughput tests directly measuring cognitive rigidity. We describe a novel approach for monitoring repetitive behaviors during reversal learning in mice in the automated IntelliCage system. During the reward-motivated place preference reversal learning, designed to assess cognitive abilities of mice, visits to the previously rewarded places were recorded to measure cognitive flexibility. Thereafter, emotional flexibility was assessed by measuring conditioned fear extinction. Additionally, to look for neuronal correlates of cognitive impairments, we measured CA3-CA1 hippocampal long term potentiation (LTP). To standardize the designed tests we used C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, representing two genetic backgrounds, for induction of autism by prenatal exposure to the sodium valproate. We found impairments of place learning related to perseveration and no LTP impairments in C57BL/6 valproate-treated mice. In contrast, BALB/c valproate-treated mice displayed severe deficits of place learning not associated with perseverative behaviors and accompanied by hippocampal LTP impairments. Alterations of cognitive flexibility observed in C57BL/6 valproate-treated mice were related to neither restricted exploration pattern nor to emotional flexibility. Altogether, we showed that the designed tests of cognitive performance and perseverative behaviors are efficient and highly replicable. Moreover, the results suggest that genetic background is crucial for the behavioral effects of prenatal valproate treatment.

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“…The hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis is intimately involved in the stress response. Dysfunction of HPA axis has been indicated in ASD ( Curin et al, 2003;Lakshmi Priya et al, 2013). Cortisol is secreted by adrenal and as an indicator of stress (Morton, Anderson, Foggin, Kock, & Tiran, 1995;Schreck & Lorz, 1978).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cortisol, serotonin and oxytocin are associated with repetitive behavior in autism spectrum disorder

Yang

Tan

Yang

et al. 2015

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abnormal circadian rhythm and cortisol excretion in autistic children: a clinical study

Cited by 11 publications

References 34 publications

Marked elevation of adrenal steroids, especially androgens, in saliva of prepubertal autistic children

Marked elevation of adrenal steroids, especially androgens, in saliva of prepubertal autistic children

A novel automated behavioral test battery assessing cognitive rigidity in two genetic mouse models of autism

The cortisol, serotonin and oxytocin are associated with repetitive behavior in autism spectrum disorder

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