https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2032-8735
![Sample our Health and Social Care journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5938/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Health-Social-Care.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by abnormal development of cognitive, social, and communicative skills. Although ASD aetiology and pathophysiology are still unclear, various nutritional factors have been investigated as potential risk factors for ASD development, including omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and vitamin D deficiency. In fact, both omega-3 PUFAs and vitamin D are important for brain development and function.
Case report: Herein, we report the case of a 23-year-old young adult male with autism who was referred to our Unit due to a 12-month history of cyclic episodes of restlessness, agitation, irritability, oppositional and self-injurious behaviours. Laboratory tests documented a markedly altered omega-6/omega-3 balance, along with a vitamin D deficiency, as assessed by serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. Omega-3 and vitamin D co-supplementation was therefore started, with remarkable improvements in ASD symptoms throughout a 24-month follow-up period. A brief review of the literature for interventional studies evaluating the efficacy of omega-3 or vitamin D supplementation for the treatment of ASD-related symptoms is also provided.
Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting remarkable beneficial effects on ASD symptoms deriving from omega-3 and vitamin D combination therapy. This case report suggests omega-3 and vitamin D co-supplementation as a potential safe-effective therapeutic strategy to treat core symptoms of ASD. However, larger studies are needed to evaluate the real efficacy of such therapeutic approach in a broader sample of ASD patients.
Disclosure statement
Barry Sears is the President of Zone Labs, a medical food company. The other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Notes on contributors
Marco Infante obtained his M.D. degree at Sapienza University of Rome in 2014. He is currently Resident Fellow at Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Unit of the Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. His research field is particularly focused on pleiotropic effects of vitamin D, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cross-talk between fat and adrenal glands.
Barry Sears is the President of the non-profit Inflammation Research Foundation located in Peabody, MA, USA. He is the author of more than 45 scientific publications and holds 14 U.S. Patents in the areas of intravenous cancer drug delivery systems and the dietary regulation of hormonal responses for the treatment of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Angela Maria Rizzo is Professor of Biochemistry, expert in lipidomics and lipid metabolism in health and disease.
Daniela Mariani Cerati obtained her M.D. degree at the University of Bologna. She worked at S.Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital (Bologna, Italy) for 30 years. Her work has always been geared to integrating the organic, as well as the psychological aspects of illness, and to finding the biological basis of mental confusion and mental disorders, especially in the elderly. Her experience with elderly people is now involved in promoting research on the biological basis of neurodevelopmental disorders at any age.
Massimiliano Caprio is Professor of Endocrinology at San Raffaele Roma University. He is the head of the Laboratories of Cardiovascular Endocrinology at the Research Center of IRCCS San Raffaele Pisana in Rome, and works as a consultant diabetologist at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He has an internationally recognized expertise in the exploration of the roles of mineralocorticoid receptor activation in diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Prof. Caprio has contributed a large amount of work on the pathophysiology of adipose proliferation and endothelial inflammation due to excessive mineralocorticoid activation. He is the author of more than 60 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and has been often invited to give lectures by several academic institutions and meetings all over the world. He has been recipient of prestigious research grants as a PI: Fondation pour la Recherche Medical (France), Italian Ministry of Health, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bayer Schering Pharma. He is an associate editor of Frontiers in Endocrinology, and serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals (Circulation, ATVB, Endocrinology, J Clin Endocrinol Metab, FASEB J, etc.).
Camillo Ricordi holds the Stacy Joy Goodman Chair in Diabetes Research. He is Professor of Surgery, Biomedical Engineering, Microbiology and Immunology, Distinguished Professor of Medicine and serves as Director of the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI; www.diabetesresearch.org) and the Cell Transplant Program at the University of Miami. Prof. Ricordi and collaborators developed the method for large-scale production of human pancreatic islets, and he led the team that performed the first series of successful clinical islet allotransplants to reverse diabetes. Recognized by his peers as an expert in human cell processing, characterization and transplantation, Dr Ricordi was president of the Cell Transplant Society and served on the FDA Biologic Response Modifiers Advisory Committee and the NIH Expert Panel and Strategic Planning Committees. He is currently serving on the editorial board of CellR4 (Editor-in-Chief; www.cellr4.org) and has served on the boards of Cell Transplantation (Co-Editor-in-Chief), the American Journal of Transplantation (Associate Editor), Transplantation, Transplantation Proceedings, Tissue Engineering and Graft (Editor-in-Chief 1998-2002). He also serves as Founding Chairman of The Cure Alliance (www.thecurealliance.org) and of the Diabetes Research Institute Federation (www.diabetesresearch.org). He has 1048 scientific publications (Citations: 41,692; H-Index: 94) and 26 awarded patents.
Andrea Fabbri is Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. He is the Chief of Endocrinology Unit of S. Eugenio & CTO Andrea Alesini Hospital, ASL Roma 2, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. Past Senior Lecturer – Honorary Consultant in Endocrinology, Department of Endocrinology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital London. He is the author of more than 500 publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is member of: Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE), Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine (SIAMS), and Endocrine Society.