Brain Behav Immun 2021 05 8;94:308-317. Epub 2021 Jan 8.
Kids Neuroscience Centre, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; The Children's Hospital at Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; The Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address:
Although genetic variation is a major risk factor of neurodevelopmental disorders, environmental factors during pregnancy and early life are also important in disease expression. Animal models demonstrate that maternal inflammation causes fetal neuroinflammation and neurodevelopmental deficits, and brain transcriptomics of neurodevelopmental disorders in humans show upregulated differentially expressed genes are enriched in immune pathways. We prospectively recruited 200 sequentially referred children with tic disorders/obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 100 autoimmune neurological controls, and 100 age-matched healthy controls. Read More