Abstract: Objective To explore the impact of creative game intervention on core symptoms and neuroimmune function in children with autism and to analyze the relationship between core symptoms and neuroimmune function. Methods A total of 100 children with autism who visited our hospital for treatment from February 2022 to February 2025 were enrolled and randomly divided into an observation group(receiving creative play intervention)and a control group(receiving conventional rehabilitation intervention),with 50 cases in each group.Core symptom indicators[Childhood Autism Rating Scale(CARS),Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist(ATEC),Autism Behavior Checklist(ABC)]and neuroimmune indicators[interleukin-17A(IL-17A),anti-myelin basic protein antibody(anti-MBP),IL-6,and osteopontin(OPN)]were compared between the two groups before and after intervention.Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the correlations between core symptom indicators and neuroimmune indicators in the observation group. Results Before intervention,there were no statistically significant differences in CARS scores,ATEC scores,or ABC scores between the two groups(all P>0.05).After the intervention,the CARS scores,ATEC scores,and ABC scores of both groups were significantly lower than those before the intervention,and the scores of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group(all P<0.05).Before intervention,there were no statistically significant differences in the levels of IL-17A,anti-MBP,IL-6,or OPN between the two groups(all P> 0.05).After intervention,the levels of IL-17A,anti-MBP,IL-6,and OPN in both groups were significantly lower than those before intervention,and the levels in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(all P<0.05).In the observation group,IL-17A,anti-MBP,IL-6,and OPN were positively correlated with the CARS score(r=0.442, 0.479, 0.483, 0.343, respectively), ATEC score(r=0.547, 0.610, 0.585, 0.406, respectively), and ABC score(r=0.463, 0.496, 0.513, 0.417, respectively) (all P<0.05). Conclusion Creative game intervention is beneficial for improving core symptoms and neuroimmune dysfunction in children with autism,and it is more effective than conventional rehabilitation intervention.The core symptoms in children with autism are closely related to neuroimmune function.

Key words: autism, child, core symptoms, neuroimmunology, creative games