Environmentally Induced Oxidative Stress and Disruption of Brain Thyroid Hormone Homeostasis in Autism Spectrum Disorders

摘要: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a group of neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by impairments language, social interactions, and movements involves neurochemical, morphological, neuroanatomical changes in specific brain regions including several cortical regions: the cerebellum, corpus callosum, basal ganglia limbic system (Sajdel-Sulkowska et al., 2010). It affects 1% births its incidence on rise. Although causation assumed to have strong genetic component, most known risks been associated with copy number variants (CNVs). Even an international genome-wide scan (AGP; Anney 2010) failed discover “the critical autism loci”. Furthermore, ASD concordance for monozygotic twins aged 18 years younger, less than 90 percent (Rosenberg 2009). Thus nongenetic, environmental triggers pathology are gaining recognition as likely causal factors although mechanisms involved impact not fully understood. This chapter focuses developmental pollutants that interfere thyroid hormone (TH), key regulation development (Oppenheimer Schwartz, 1997), possible factor contributing autistic pathology. Many toxicants, such herbicides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), bisphenol A (BPA) organic mercury compounds potent disruptors endocrine TH. TH plays role virtue regulating cellular metabolism, growth, differentiation maturation indispensable proper central nervous (CNS). deficiency during CNS results cretinism spectrum psychoneurological both neurological cognitive deficiencies (Vermiglio 1995). has suggested maternal hypothyroxinemia periods may disrupt processes produce morphological leading (Roman, 2007). Hypothyroidism pregnancy proposed one twelve