Autism Diagnosis and Biomarkers
Sedef Erdik1, Berzah Güneş1, Oytun Erbaş1,2
1ERBAS Institute of Experimental Medicine, Illinois, USA & Gebze, Turkey
2Department of Physiology, Medical Faculty of Demiroğlu Bilim University, Istanbul, Turkey
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, biomarkers, vascular endothelial growth factor
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of complex neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by social interaction and communication deficiencies and repetitive, stereotypical behaviors. Since the etiology and pathogenesis of the disease have not been elucidated yet, specific treatment and reliable diagnostic biomarkers are not available. Early behavioral interventions have been shown to significantly improve symptoms in children with ASD. Given the rapidly increasing prevalence of ASD, there is an urgent need to identify relevant diagnostic biomarkers. Although specific diagnostic markers for ASD have not been identified, related research has advanced in different directions. This review summarizes recent findings on the use of several more biomarker candidate molecules, such as FABP4, an adipokine, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) molecules, as diagnostic biomarkers for ASD.
Cite this article as: Erdik S, Güneş B, Erbaş O. Autism Diagnosis and Biomarkers. JEB Med Sci 2021;2(1):80-85.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.