Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children With Systemic Inflammatory Disease

Systemic inflammatory diseases in children include autoinflammatory diseases (deregulation of the innate immune system with production of pro-inflammatory cytokines) and autoimmune diseases (deregulation of the adaptive immune system with production of pathogenic autoantibodies). Neurological damage has been reported in both cases, but the neurodevelopmental psychiatric manifestations are poorly known, especially in children. Neurodevelopmental disorders are a broad spectrum of pathologies that are underpinned by common symptomatic dimensions. They have a common physiopathology combining genetic predisposing factors as well as environmental risk factors, making it possible to study them from a global point of view. Among the environmental risk factors, the immune system seems to play an important role in the appearance of these pathologies. In recent years, fundamental and animal studies have pointed to an important role of the immune system at the cerebral level. Indeed, far from the old notion of ""immune privilege"", the innate or adaptive immune balance seems to have a fundamental role in the proper development and functioning of the brain. Consequently, any modification of the immune balance could then disrupt neurodevelopment. Indeed, in recent years epidemiological studies seem to indicate the role of immune-mediated events during pregnancy (maternal autoimmune/inflammatory pathology or infection during pregnancy) or the first years of life (autoimmune/inflammatory pathology) as risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders. Neurodevelopmental manifestations are very poorly known in systemic inflammatory pathologies. They can have a significant impact and justify adapted care in order to limit the functional impact. The main objective of our study will be to define the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders in children with systemic inflammatory diseases.