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Autism and the immune system.
University of Leijden, The Netherlands.
As our knowledge of the interactions of the immune, nervous and endocrine systems progresses, complex links with the origin and course of psychopathology in childhood are revealed. In this article the neuroimmunological literature on autism is reviewed. Relevant aspects of immune functioning and the neuroendocrine-immune network are described. We present the immunological findings in autistic patients within two related conceptual frameworks: a viral and an autoimmune hypothesis. Interpretation of data is hampered by conceptual and methodological differences between studies. Both the clinical significance of the immune changes and the causal connection between immune changes and psychopathological phenomena in autism remain to be elucidated. Recommendations for further research are given.
PMID: 9232480 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Cited by 3 PubMed Central articles
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Autism, asthma, inflammation, and the hygiene hypothesis.
Becker KG.
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[Med Hypotheses. 2007]
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Heat shock protein and gliadin peptide promote development of peptidase antibodies in children with autism and patients with autoimmune disease.
Vojdani A, Bazargan M, Vojdani E, Samadi J, Nourian AA, Eghbalieh N, Cooper EL.
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[Clin Diagn Lab Immunol. 2004]
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RHD maternal-fetal genotype incompatibility increases schizophrenia susceptibility.
Palmer CG, Turunen JA, Sinsheimer JS, Minassian S, Paunio T, Lönnqvist J, Peltonen L, Woodward JA.
Am J Hum Genet. 2002 Dec; 71(6):1312-9. Epub 2002 Nov 18.
[Am J Hum Genet. 2002]