QualiFam Published Studies
Study 1
Journal of Gynaecology and Neonatal
For this study, we have surveyed 89 parents of children with autism and 207 parents of healthy children in order to find out how the frequency of pregnancy and delivery complications differed in these groups. As well, the questions about children’s behavior in the first few months after birth were asked in order to confirm the presence of autistic symptoms in early infancy.
We found out that The mothers of children later diagnosed with ASD had significantly higher rates of infections (56.2% vs. 24.6%, p<0.001) and placental detachment (9% vs. 3.4%, p<0.05) during pregnancy than mothers of healthy children. Children later diagnosed with ASD had higher rates of hypoxia (58.4% vs. 13.5%, p<0.001), asphyxia (23.6% vs. 3.4%, p<0.001), active congenital infection (15.7% vs. 1.4%, p<0.001), and different types of CNS damage (15.7% vs. 4.3%, p<0.001) at birth. Children later diagnosed with ASD were significantly more often characterized as withdrawn (59.6% vs. 13%, p<0.001), and having frequent episodes of health problems (18.1% vs. 3.9%, p<0.001) during the first three months after birth.
These results confirm that autism is initiated before birth and additionally supports that maternal infections play a role in this disorder.
The graphs indicating the main findings of the study are below.
Study 2. Case Series of 57
Journal of Neurology and Psychiatric Disorders
We conducted an assessment of 57 ASD children through web-mediated communication, questionnaires, and laboratory analyses of blood parameters. The results show that 57 children from Central Asia and Eastern Europe diagnosed with ASD had multiple signs of infections, inflammation, immune system disruption, and folate deficiency. In particular, we found that most children had chronic multi-infections varying from 2 to 5 infections of mostly viral origin.
As well, in most children, blood and immune parameters, indicating chronic inflammation, were altered.
Our collected information gives us an assumption that initial negative changes resulting in the autistic phenotypes in these children were initiated during the mother’s pregnancy producing a number of negative etiopathogenic changes resulting in the disorder.
The graphs indicating the main findings of the study are below.
Study 3. Series of 30 Cases
Journal of Nutrition and Diet Supplements
In this study, we describe the treatment results of 30 children. The treatment included antiviral therapy combined with nutritional supplementation, which resulted in a tendency of the blood and immune parameters to shift towards normalization and in some positive changes in symptoms and signs related to ASD in all 30 children. There were no significant side effects observed, except for mild side reactions that continued for no longer than 14 days.
The table indicating the changes observed in children is below:
Study 4. Series of 6 Cases
Journal of Neurology and Psychiatric Disorders
In this study, we presented six cases of ASD treatment, which included antiviral medication Valacyclovir and five nutritional supplements. The presented results are based on five cycles of treatment continued for 5 months. In all six cases, the treatment resulted in social communication skills and behavioral improvements as well as positive changes in the physical and psychological conditions. These improvements covariate with a tendency to normalization of blood and immune parameters. Social communication skills, behavioral, physical and psychological improvements also positively affected parents whose subjected quality of life increased over the course of the treatment. According to the parents of these children, the proposed treatment had superior efficacy compared to other types of treatment that their children underwent before.
The graphs indicating the main findings of the study are below.
The maximum possible score is 60, indicating the most severe form of autism and the minimal score is 15, indicating the complete absence of autistic symptoms.
Each child’s results are indicated in a different color.
The possible score range is 0-100. Each line represents the changes in the quality of life of every parent. The color of the line corresponds to the case of the study.
All parents were experiencing a steady increase in their quality of life over the courses of treatment.
Study 5. Behavior and Blood Parameters
Journal Clinical Case Reports and Clinical Research
In this descriptive series, 11 ASD cases with detected chronic viral infection and inflammation were treated by standard anti-viral regimen for 6-12 months. It was observed that in all 11 children the antiviral treatment resulted in normalization of blood parameters which indicate infection and inflammation. At the same time, the decrease in the CARS-2 scores and positive behavioral changes observed by parents had a tendency to occur after the normalization of these parameters. Further studies are needed to make clear conclusions about this effect of antiviral treatment on autism.
The graphs indicating the main findings of the study are below.
Study 6. Infections, Inflammation and Genetic Dysregulation
Journal of Neurology and Psychiatric Disorders
There is a large number of existing evidence showing the connection between ASD and inflammation and infection as etiologic factors. In this article, we reviewed the studies that supported the role of infection and inflammation in prenatal ASD initiation. Dozens of papers that describe conducted research find that these different factors of ASD are consistent with each other, and that each of these factors are interconnected to create one comprehensive model of ASD etiopathogenesis. This model explains many of the features observed in ASD, such as atypical brain formation, gene alterations, inflammation, early symptom manifestation and statistical correlations of seemingly unrelated risk factors of the disorder. Overall, we infer that ASD is a congenital disorder resulting from maternal infection during pregnancy, and thus, leading to chronic neurological and systemic inflammation that sets off a chain of events that accumulate into the symptoms that can be observed in ASD children. This etiological understanding of ASD would lead to a more thorough development of preventative measures, early diagnostic tools, and effective treatment to those who are at risk of being afflicted by ASD and those who are already afflicted.
Study 7. Role of TORCH Infections, Inflammation, Dysbiotic Microbiome, and Treatment Perspectives
Research Ideas and Outcomes
Autism spectrum disorders are a range of neurodevelopmental problems that often present clinically as repetitive behavior, restricted interests, and a lack of capacity for regular social interaction. The inflammatory and infectious nature of this disease is now a predominant theory about the etiology of this disorder. In contrast, other hypotheses related to unempathetic parents and exposure to heavy metals are no longer valid. Inflammation in a fetus can be caused by factors ranging from TORCH infections to wall-free pathogens from the mother. Another critical contributor to immune, humoral, and nervous system dysfunction in ASD patients is the predominance of pathogenic microflora.
All these factors trigger sustained systemic inflammation and oxidative stress that cause mutations, abnormal epigenetic alterations, and tissue necrosis in various organs, particularly in the brain. Necrosis and inflammation produce brain edema and subsequent shrinkage, resulting in irreversible changes in anatomy and physiology, creating a distinct autistic phenotype. Overall, the results and findings of the studies discussed in this paper suggest that future methods for improving the symptoms can be based on prophylaxis and treating maternal infections during and even before pregnancy. In ASD children, complex anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory therapy cannot only improve somatic symptoms but also enhance the efficiency of treatment methods that target behavioral problems in these patients.