Assessment of serum nitric oxide, sirtuin-1, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and telomerase levels in children and adolescents diagnosed with sluggish cognitive tempo

This study aimed to investigate the serum levels of NO, SIRT-1, MMP-9, and telomerase in children and adolescents diagnosed with Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT). Participants included children and adolescents who were diagnosed with SCT and presented to the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University. Their inclusion in the study was based on obtaining parental consent. The control group consisted of children and adolescents selected statistically to be similar in terms of gender and age, and they were also included in the study with parental consent. To determine the sociodemographic characteristics of all participants, a sociodemographic data form was used. The Barkley Child Attention Scale (BCAS) was used to evaluate SCT, the Conners Parent Rating Scale Short Form (CPRS-KF) was used to detect comorbid Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms, and the Stroop and Trail Making Tests were used to assess executive functions. Blood samples were collected from the incoming patients and control subjects, and subsequently placed into biochemical tubes. Afterward, the samples were subjected to centrifugation and stored at -80°C until further analysis. Following the completion of the blood collection process, serum levels of NO, SIRT-1, MMP-9, and telomerase of both patients and control individuals were assayed using ELISA kits. In the conducted study, it was found that the serum levels of SIRT-1 and telomerase in the patient group were significantly higher than those in the control group, while the levels of MMP-9 and NO were significantly lower. Additionally, the patient group showed significantly higher scores on all sub-scales of BCAS and CPRS-KF compared to the control group. Moreover, the patient group performed worse on executive function assessment tests (Stroop and Trail Making Tests) compared to the control group. In conclusion, to our knowledge, to date, this is the first study evaluating the novel biomarkers associated with cognitive functions, namely NO, SIRT-1, MMP-9, and telomerase levels in children with SCT, and these molecules were found to be significantly different in the patient group compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, children and adolescents with SCT exhibited weaker executive function performance. Since SCT negatively affects individual's an academic performance, social relationships, and quality of life, it is crucial to gain a better understanding of children and adolescents diagnosed with SCT and to conduct further studies to better comprehend the pathophysiology of SCT. Keywords: Sluggish Cognitive Tempo, NO, SIRT-1, MMP-9, telomerase