TY  - JOUR
AU  - Samosir, Sunny Mariana
AU  - Noviandi, Riza
AU  - Widodo, Agung Dwi Wahyu
AU  - Ananda, Naoval Diza
AU  - Setiawati, Yunias
AU  - Gunawan, Prastiya Indra
TI  - Immune dysregulation in early childhood autism: A case control study of pro and anti inflammatory cytokines
PY  - %2026/%08/%07
Y2  - %2026/%08/%27
JF  - Acta Biomedica Atenei Parmensis
JA  - Acta Biomed
VL  - 97
IS  - 4
SE  - ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE - PEDIATRICS AND ADOLESCENT MEDICINE
DO  - 10.23750/abm.2026.18680
UR  - https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.2026.18680
SP  - 18680
AB  - Background and aim: Immune dysregulation has been proposed as a contributing mechanism in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) are key pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines that may influence early childhood development. This study aimed to compare IL-6 and IL-10 levels between children with ASD and typically developing controls and to assess the association of cytokines level with the severity of autism.Methods: A case‒control study was conducted among children aged 2–5 years with ASD diagnosed according to the DSM-5 criteria and age-matched typically developing controls in Surabaya, Indonesia. Blood serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ASD severity was assessed via the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, second edition (CARS-2). Nonparametric statistical analyses were applied according to the data distribution.Results: A total of 70 participants were included. Children with ASD (n = 35) presented significantly higher IL-6 levels (1.21 vs 0.60 pg/mL, P < 0.001) than the control group even after adjustment of sex and age. IL-10 levels did not differ significantly between the groups (P = 0.85). The IL-6/IL-10 ratios tended to increase with increasing ASD severity based on CARS-2 score but attenuated after adjustment for age and sex.Conclusions: Children with ASD exhibit elevated IL-6 levels. The IL-6/IL-10 ratio showed a positive association with ASD severity in unadjusted analyses; however, this relationship was attenuated after adjustment for age and sex. These findings support the role of neuroimmune dysregulation in ASD.
ER  -