Reduced neonatal brain-derived neurotrophic factor is associated with autism spectrum disorders.

Abstract	Mental disorders have for the majority of cases an unknown etiology, but several studies indicate that neurodevelopmental changes happen in utero or early after birth. We performed a nested case-control study of the relation between blood levels of neuro-developmental (S100B, BDNF, and VEGF-A) and inflammatory (MCP-1, TARC, IL-8, IL-18, CRP, and IgA) biomarkers in newborns, and later development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD, N = 751), attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD, N = 801), schizophrenia (N = 1969), affective (N = 641) or bipolar disorders (N = 641). Samples and controls were obtained as part of the iPSYCH Danish Case-Cohort Study using dried blood spot samples collected between 1981 and 2004, and stored frozen at the Danish National Biobank. In newborns lower blood level of BDNF was significantly associated with increased odds (OR 1.15) of developing ASD (p = 0.001). This difference could not be explained by genetic variation in the BDNF coding gene region. A tendency of decreased levels of all the neurotrophic markers and increased levels of all inflammatory markers was noted. The low newborn blood levels of BDNF in children developing ASD is an important finding, suggesting that lower BDNF levels in newborns contributes to the etiology of ASD and indicates new directions for further research. It may also help identifying a long-sought marker for high-ASD risk in, e.g., younger siblings of ASD children.
Authors	Kristin Skogstrand, Christian Munch Hagen, Nis Borbye-Lorenzen, Michael Christiansen, Jonas Bybjerg-Grauholm, Marie Bækvad-Hansen, Thomas Werge, Anders Børglum, Ole Mors, Merethe Nordentoft, Preben Bo Mortensen, David Michael Hougaard
Journal	Translational psychiatry (Transl Psychiatry) Vol. 9 Issue 1 Pg. 252 (10 07 2019) ISSN: 2158-3188 [Electronic] United States
PMID	31591381 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References	Biomarkers Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor
Topics	Adolescent Autism Spectrum Disorder (blood) Biomarkers (blood) Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (blood) Case-Control Studies Child Denmark Dried Blood Spot Testing Female Humans Infant, Newborn Linear Models Logistic Models Male

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