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Query: UMLS:C0004352 (autism)
 32,579 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A historical perspective was presented, attempting to trace how some clinical concepts and working assumptions, effective in the past, had drifted out of relationship with social changes, and were now considered by many as being myths. These included the assumption that developmental deviations such as autism were primarily normal responses to family stress and that autism primarily involved the child's social withdrawal from a hostile environment. In this paper some relationships between such myth beliefs and parental difficulties in managing their autistic child were identified. Specific management difficulties were distinguished from general ones. The latter manifest themselves in parental confusion, inappropriate expectations, and social role diffusion. Suggestions were made for helping parental management through changing treatment structures from traditional procedures.
J Autism Child Schizophr 1976 Mar
PMID:Toward reducing behavior problems in autistic children. 94 96

Early onset schizophrenia (EOS) is defined as that beginning in childhood or adolescence (under 16 or 17). Studies of EOS are infrequent, and comparative adult figures not always available, but tentative conclusions may be drawn. EOS is more common in males; symptomatology is often undifferentiated; frequencies of homotypic family disorder, premorbid schizotypal personality, and neurodevelopmental abnormalities high; outcome poor but only slightly worse than in adults; response to psychotropic drug treatment probably similar though not properly tested; and confusion with psychotic bipolar disorder particularly common. Onset before language is developed presents special diagnostic difficulties. There are a few reports of autistic children developing schizophrenia but this requires replication. Differences from adult schizophrenia are more marked when onset is in childhood than in adolescence but all are quantitative rather than qualitative suggesting that the disorders are the same and that there should be no separate category for children or adolescents.
J Autism Dev Disord 1992 Dec
PMID:Child and adolescent (early onset) schizophrenia: a review in light of DSM-III-R. 148 79

It has been argued that there is an important group of conditions, seen for the first time in late infancy and early childhood, which are both remarkably persistent and pervasive in their influence on cognitive and social development. They combine features of childhood autism, mental retardation and cognitive deterioration and the term 'disintegrative' most precisely characterizes their impact on development. The term 'psychosis' is only usually appropriate in describing the severity of the psychiatric symptoms. In order to avoid confusion with the psychoses or dementia of adult life, the term 'disintegrative disorder of development' may be preferred. While specific pathology is being identified in an increasing number of cases, the combined use of psychiatric and physical diagnostic categories perhaps best serves to draw attention to this important group of disorders. It is likely that, with increasing knowledge, the need for such an interim diagnostic category may become unnecessary.
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PMID:Development, disintegration and dementia. 332 49

What we have tried to do in this paper is to question the universality of Infantile Autism as implied by the various definitions which have been provided. Our research of the literature has convinced us that infantile autism appears to be an illness of Western Civilization, and appears in countries of high technology, where the nuclear family dominates. We indicated that no research studies were located in the U.S.A. on Hispanics, in spite of their large number. Furthermore, it was found to be quite rare among Black families. We also saw that the illness seems to be quite infrequent in Latin American countries, Africa, and India, while the rate is high in Japan, but only in westernized families. Tinbergen (1974) likewise feels that infantile autism is "actually on the increase in a number of Western and westernized societies". Two major variables which are interconnected seem to be responsible for the confusion in the findings. One of them is the problem of diagnosis. It would seem that many researchers have extended the definition of infantile autism to include other seriously afflicted children, including those who are brain-damaged. This is no surprise, since such conflicts exist as Ritvo (1981) estimating that there are 300,000 autistic children in the U.S., while a report by the National Institute for Handicapped Research estimates the number of autistic children to be 71,000 (1981). Another aspect of the findings which has been contradictory is that some investigators have found that parents of autistic children tend to be of higher S.E.S., particularly in European studies, while some studies in the U.S.A. did not find such a difference among the parents of autistic and non-autistic children. We have provided some illustrations to indicate that studies which have found no differences were not dealing exclusively with autistic children as defined by Kanner, and often used childhood schizophrenia and autism interchangeably. Cantwell, Baker, and Rutter (1978) have pointed out that this persistent difference of superior S.E.S. of parents of autistic children is an embarrassing finding which is very hard to explain if one holds that the disease is organically determined. In conclusion to his review of the literature on the universality of adult schizophrenia, Torrey (1973) wrote the following: "Studies must be done soon or it will be too late to do them at all. But, until the universal prevalence of schizophrenia becomes an open question, this task is unlikely to be undertaken". The writer of this paper is of the same opinion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Is infantile autism a universal phenomenon? An open question. 674 21

Rett's syndrome progresses in 4 stages: the first signs of the disorder appear after a period of 6 to 7 months, during which development is considered to be normal. This asymptomatic period is apparently an essential criterion of the diagnosis, but some parents have reported some prodromes. In stage II of the disease (before 3 years), signs common with autism dominate the clinical picture and the diagnosis of the latter was often formulated. Our working hypothesis is that the pedopsychiatric analysis of home movies of young girls with Rett's syndrome, taken by the parents before the age of 2, may be able to show early clinical signs. The present study involved examining home movies of children subsequently diagnosed as having Rett's syndrome (n = 9) in comparison to those of autistic (n = 9) and normal (n = 9) children, using semiological evaluation tools (IBSE, BFE). The persons scoring were not advised of the diagnosis. The observations were thus situated before the disorders and/or at the time of their appearance. The study confirms the asymptomatic interval between birth and the first signs of the disease, it defines the mode of onset and shows the disturbance of certain functions such as intent and imitation, more pronounced in Rett's syndrome children between 12 and 18 months. At this age, it also enables Rett's and autistic children to be differentiated on the basis of the different involvement of the "cognition" function and unusual posture, more pronounced in these girls. It does not, however, differentiate Rett's from autism between 6 and 12 months and it is thus not surprising that at this stage the diagnosis of rett's syndrome or autism may be a source of confusion.
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PMID:[Rett syndrome and autism. Early comparative evaluation for signs of autism using family movies]. 941 93

Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD), which is classified as a sub-type of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), has been recognised for many years. Research data on CDD, however, is sparse and it primarily describes the clinical parameters. In this research report clinical data on 12 cases of CDD and 21 cases of typical autism, seen during a specified period, are compared and critically evaluated in reference to the diagnostic criteria in ICD-10 for these disorders. While the findings support the clinical validity of CDD, these also highlight the limitations of the current criteria (ICD-10) particularly the age of onset in CDD and the conceptual confusion in labelling it as a 'PDD'. Need for more research in the areas of the biology, course and outcome of CDD is emphasised.
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PMID:Childhood disintegrative disorder. Re-examination of the current concept. 1236 69

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) revealed a distinct resonance at 3.15 ppm in the brain of a 5-year-old male diagnosed with autism. The resonance assignment is attributable to ingestion of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) as a dietary supplement. Glucosamine with MSM is marketed as a source of dietary sulfur and treatment of joint pain. Recognition of this chemical on brain proton MRS as an exogenous compound is necessary to avoid confusion as a pathologic metabolite of pediatric metabolic disease.
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PMID:Methylsulfonylmethane observed by in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in a 5-year-old child with developmental disorder: effects of dietary supplementation. 1243 21

The evidence to date regarding memory processes in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remains equivocal. Although children with these neurodevelopmental disorders have been shown to display exceptional memories for fact-based information, they seem to be less able to attach meaning or context to their memories. Thus, this study investigated the specific role of source memory in autism. Children with ASD were compared to a chronological and mental age-matched comparison group of typically developing children. Although children with autism performed similarly to controls on a fact recognition measure, their performance on a source memory task was significantly lower. The findings indicated, however, that the nature of source memory confusion in children with autism does not appear to reflect a generalized deficit in attaching context to memories but rather is dependent on the specific to-be-remembered information that, in this study, involves social aspects of context.
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PMID:Source memory in children with autism spectrum disorders. 1584 1

In the years following the hepatitis B vaccination/multiple sclerosis controversy, a number of new issues regarding vaccine safety have been raised, in some cases leading to more debate and confusion. Against this background, an international group of experts was convened to review the current points of view concerning the use of thimerosal as a preservative and its potential risks; the suggested link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and acute lymphoblastic leukemia; the alleged association between aluminum-containing vaccines/macrophagic myofasciitis and general systemic complaints; a possible link between vaccination and autoimmune pathology; and a hypothetical link between measles-mumps-rubella vaccination and autism. At present, there are no data to conclude that childhood vaccines, and in particular hepatitis B vaccine, pose a serious health risk or justify a change in current immunization practice. However, vaccine "scares" continue to have an international impact on immunization coverage. Creating a positive environment for immunization can be achieved by repositioning the value of vaccines and vaccination, supported by evidence-based information. The role of international organizations, the media, and the industry in the implementation of communication strategies was discussed and the impact of litigation issues on vaccination was evaluated. The Viral Hepatitis Prevention Board confirms its commitment to current recommendations for universal and risk group hepatitis B vaccination and further encourages the conduct of vaccine safety studies and the dissemination of their results.
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PMID:Vaccine safety controversies and the future of vaccination programs. 1628 28

The causes of autism are heterogeneous and predominantly genetically determined. An exact aetiology is found in less than 10% of affected patients. The disappointment about low rates of success in identifying a definite pathology, numerous reports about the association of autism and "metabolic derangements", and rumours of "miraculous cures" after application of various drugs and dietary regimes have resulted in substantial confusion about meaningful diagnostic procedures and rational therapies for subjects with autism. The aim of this report is to give an overview about rare, genetically determined neurometabolic disorders (inborn errors of metabolism) that are evidently (e.g. Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome) or allegedly (e.g. succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency) associated with autism-specific symptoms. Affected patients usually display additional neurological symptoms. Procedures required to establish the diagnosis and eventual therapeutic consequences derived from a specific metabolic defect are presented. In addition to these well-defined neurometabolic disorders for which there are rational therapeutic strategies, hypotheses about the association of autism with "metabolic derangements" that could not be confirmed or were clearly falsified are discussed.
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PMID:[Autism and metabolic disorders-a rational approach]. 1629 4


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