Abnormalities in Voltage-gated Calcium Channels in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with delayed social communication and behavior skills. Scientists have postulated various theories to understand the different mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of ASD with consistent findings of mutations in genes encoding Voltage-gated Calcium channels (VGCCs) in ASD patients. We have systematically reviewed and analyzed various mutations in VGCC genes and their association with ASD. We did a literature search in PubMed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, NIH database for clinical trials, and Google Scholar. We used keywords “Autism Spectrum Disorder”, “Autistic Disorder”, “Calcium channels”, and the filter terms etiology and genetics. We included all free full-text articles in the English language that were published from 2005 to 2020. This review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocol (PRISMA-P) 2009 guidelines. We selected 14 studies for this review after applying exclusion criteria and performing Quality Assessment (QA). All of our studies show a significant association between ASD and mutations in VGCC genes. These findings support further testing of the readily available Calcium channel blockers (CCBs), with known side effects and safety profile, and understand if CCBs can be repurposed for treating or alleviating the symptoms of ASD.