Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factorand Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Background:Since autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood and BDNF is important in neurodevelopment, BDNF is of suggestive potential usefulness as sub-diagnostic biological marker of autism and that the investigation of this role may lead autism investigators in a new direction of research and the development of effective treatment modalities.There have been great controversies in studying relationship between BDNF and autism. Some studies reported that serum BDNF are significantly reduced in autism than in normal controls.While other studies reported higher serum BDNF levels obtained from autistic children compared with controls.  It has been suggested that synaptic dysfunction may be a possible mechanism for the emergence and progression of postnatal neurodevelopmental disorders.    The elevated serum and brain BDNF levels observed in autistic children could be attributed to a regional compensatory mechanism for the lack of development of an intrinsic component of the disease process.