In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an autism alarm, estimating that one in 150 children may be affected by autism spectrum disorder. Autism has been treated mainly with technical approaches: principally applied behavior analysis and psychopharmacology. The findings in this book implicate oxidative stress as a common feature in autism, and support the claim that oxidative stress and intracellular redox imbalance can be induced or triggered in autism by exposure to certain environmental agents. Such findings could point the way to new treatment approaches in autism. Autism: Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Immune Abnormalities brings together a wealth of cutting-edge evidence that is already influencing how we treat this serious condition. It looks at the role of neuropathological abnormalities, genetics, and those factors common to oxidative stress such as inflammation, immune dysfunction, aberrant cellular signaling, and gene-environment interactions. Among dozens of research topics, this volume - Looks at interactions between genetic and environmental factors such as the maternal immune environment and prenatal/postnatal environmental stressors Summarizes evidence for oxidative damage and inflammation in autism Introduces a PDD behavior inventory as a tool for assessing autism Considers autism as an aberrant adaptive response to neuroinflammation and oxidative stress Examines the role of abnormal calcium signaling and the hypothesis that it may represent a target for novel therapeutics Presents a hypothesis that autism arises from the dysregulation of a unified gut/brain system rather than originating in the brain alone Proposes the utility of using a biopsychosocial method to treat autism This book shows us that autism is not only developmental but also a chronic condition based on active pathophysiology, and that it is not only behavioral but also presents somatic and systemic features. The findings in these chapters support the theory that oxidative stress plays an important role in autism. They also point to the value of conducting in-depth mechanistic studies as a way to uncover new targets for therapeutic intervention in autism.

This authoritative volume reviews clinical, pathophysiological and therapeutic aspects of oxidative and nitrosative stress in different psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Twenty-nine comprehensive chapters are divided into three distinct sections: clinical aspects, pathophysiological aspects, and therapeutic aspects. Together, these chapters present the environmental, genetic and neurodevelopmental factors in the generation of oxidative stress in psychiatric disorders, with particular emphasis on the biochemical changes associated with oxidative stress in dopaminergic and glutamate neurotransmission as well as mitochondrial dysfunction in the brain and peripheral cells. Through an investigation of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) abnormalities in schizophrenia, the book provides a coherent framework to account for the impact of oxidative stress on pathological phenomena ranging from cellular to cognitive and clinical aspects. It describes biomarkers of oxidative damage, the role of oxidative stress in numerous abnormalities of biochemical pathways in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, the development of new investigative techniques, specially neuroimaging, and studies of apoptotic pathways that seem to prove neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental theories. Written by leading researchers in their fields, Studies on Psychiatric Disorders explores therapeutic approaches with aspects of various antioxidants, cryostimulation, and hyperbaric oxygen treatment in oxidative stress in neuropsychiatric diseases. The volume also discusses the role of antipsychotics in the treatment of schizophrenia on nitric oxide generation and biomarkers of oxidative stress together with the clinical symptomatology. Overall, it proposes that novel therapeutic strategies such as supplementation with antioxidants-in particular polyphenols, -3 fatty acids or combination of both-could be effective for long-term treatment of some neuropsychiatric disorders.