Plastic use dramatically increased over the past few years. Besides obvious benefits, the consequent plastic waste and mismanagement in disposal have caused ecological problems. Plastic abandoned in the environment is prone to segregation, leading to the generation of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs), which can reach aquatic and terrestrial organisms. MPs/NPs in water can access fish’s bodies through the gills, triggering an inflammatory response in loco. Furthermore, from the gills, plastic fragments can be transported within the circulatory system altering blood biochemical parameters and hormone levels and leading to compromised immunocompetence and angiogenesis. In addition, it was also possible to observe an unbalanced ROS production, damage in vascular structure, and enhanced thrombosis. MPs/NPs led to cardiotoxicity, pericardial oedema, and impaired heart rate in fish cardiac tissue. MPs/NPs effects on aquatic organisms pose serious health hazards and ecological consequences because they constitute the food chain for humans. Once present in the mammalian body, plastic particles can interact with circulating cells, eliciting an inflammatory response, with genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of immune cells, enhanced haemolysis, and endothelium adhesion. The interaction of MPs/NPs with plasma proteins allows their transport to distant organs, including the heart. As a consequence of plastic fragment internalisation into cardiomyocytes, oxidative stress was increased, and metabolic parameters were altered. In this scenario, myocardial damage, fibrosis and impaired electrophysiological values were observed. In summary, MPs/NPs are an environmental stressor for cardiac function in living organisms, and a risk assessment of their influence on the cardiovascular system certainly merits further analysis.

Atypical eating habits are more common in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) than typically developing (TD) peers. Feeding problems may lead to the double burden of specific nutrient deficiencies and excessive weight gain, with a consequent increase in obesity prevalence. The dietary intake of Italian preschoolers with ASD compared to their TD peers and the impact of their dietary choices on their weight status and relationship to food selectivity (FS) were investigated. Dietary patterns and their associations with body mass index (BMI) were evaluated in 65 children with ASD and 82 peers with TD aged 1.3–6.4 years. Eating habits were assessed with a modified version of a parent-rated semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire. Moreover, the prevalence of FS and possible links with dietary patterns and BMI were investigated in the ASD group. Children with ASD consumed significantly higher amounts of simple sugars, processed and ultra-processed carbohydrates, both low- and high-fat animal proteins, and lower amounts of vegetables and fruits compared to peers with TD. The obesity rate was 1.5% in children with TD and more than fourfold (6.2%) in children with ASD, although the difference between groups was not statistically significant. FS was significantly more frequent in children with ASD than in peers with TD. Children with ASD and FS showed significantly lower annual intakes of vegetable proteins and fiber (considered essential nutrients for a healthy diet) than children with ASD without FS. Our results showed that children with ASD showed different dietary habits than those with TD, with the higher consumption of energy-dense foods and lower amounts of food-sourced fibers, which could place them at increased risk to develop overweight, obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies later in life.

Background: Several studies have tried to investigate the role of inflammatory biomarkers in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and their correlations with clinical phenotypes. Despite the growing research in this topic, existing data are mostly contradictory. Methods: Eighty-five ASD preschoolers were assessed for developmental level, adaptive functioning, gastrointestinal (GI), socio-communicative and psychopathological symptoms. Plasma levels of leptin, resistin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (CCL2), tumor necrosis factor-alfa (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were correlated with clinical scores and were compared among different ASD subgroups according to the presence or absence of: (i) GI symptoms, (ii) regressive onset of autism. Results: Proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and CCL2) were lower than those reported in previous studies in children with systemic inflammatory conditions. GI symptoms were not correlated with levels of inflammatory biomarkers except for resistin that was lower in ASD-GI children (p = 0.032). Resistin and PAI-1 levels were significantly higher in the group with “regression plus a developmental delay” onset (Reg+DD group) compared to groups without regression or with regression without a developmental delay (p < 0.01 for all). Conclusions: Our results did not highlight the presence of any systemic inflammatory state in ASD subjects neither disentangling children with/without GI symptoms. The Reg + DD group significantly differed from others in some plasmatic values, but these differences failed to discriminate the subgroups as possible distinct ASD endo-phenotypes.

The alteration of the microbiota–gut–brain axis has been recently recognized as a critical modulator of neuropsychiatric health and a possible factor in the etiopathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This systematic review offers practitioners an overview of the potential therapeutic options to modify dysbiosis, GI symptoms, and ASD severity by modulating the microbiota–gut–brain axis in ASD, taking into consideration limits and benefits from current findings. Comprehensive searches of PubMed, Scopus, the Web of Science Core Collection, and EMBASE were performed from 2000 to 2021, crossing terms referred to ASD and treatments acting on the microbiota–gut–brain axis. A total of 1769 publications were identified, of which 19 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted independently by two reviewers using a preconstructed form. Despite the encouraging findings, considering the variability of the treatments, the samples size, the duration of treatment, and the tools used to evaluate the outcome of the examined trials, these results are still partial. They do not allow to establish a conclusive beneficial effect of probiotics and other interventions on the symptoms of ASD. In particular, the optimal species, subspecies, and dosages have yet to be identified. Considering the heterogeneity of ASD, double-blind, randomized, controlled trials and treatment tailored to ASD characteristics and host-microbiota are recommended.

Studies in psychiatric populations have found a positive effect of Horticultural therapy (HCT) on reductions in stress levels. The main objective of the present pilot study was to evaluate the impact of the addition of HCT to conventional clinical treatment (Treatment as Usual, TaU) in a sample of six female adolescents with anorexia nervosa restricting type (AN-R), as compared to six AN-R patients, matched for sex and age, under TaU only. This is a prospective, non-profit, pilot study on patients with a previous diagnosis of AN-R and BMI < 16, recruited in 2020 in clinical settings. At enrolment (T0) and after treatment completion (TF), psychiatric assessment was performed. At T0, all the patients underwent: baseline electrocardiogram acquisition with a wearable chest strap for recording heart rate and its variability; skin conductance registration and thermal mapping of the individual’s face. An olfactory identification test was administered both to evaluate the olfactory sensoriality and to assess the induced stress. One-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were performed to analyze modifications in clinical and physiological variables, considering time (T0, TF) as a within-subjects factor and group (experimental vs. control) as between-subjects factors. When the ANOVA was significant, post hoc analysis was performed by Paired Sample T-tests. Only in the HCT group, stress response levels, as measured by the biological parameters, improved over time. The body uneasiness level and the affective problem measures displayed a significant improvement in the HCT subjects. HCT seems to have a positive influence on stress levels in AN-R.