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

Dextromethorphan is the d-isomer of levorphenol, and an ingredient in antitussive preparations. A 10 year-old male diagnosed with Autistic Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder was administered this medication initially to treat a medical condition. This became a quasi-experimental ABAB design (A = baseline, B = treatment), with improvements during treatment phases shown in tracked behavioral data and anecdotal reports. Several candidate mechanisms to explain the improvements are offered, including glutamate receptor antagonism. While dextromethorphan is not commonly administered for the treatment of behavioral challenges in this or any population, the results suggest the need for larger-scale, adequately controlled, and methodologically rigorous studies of the potential clinical effects of dextromethorphan.
J Autism Dev Disord 2005 Aug
PMID:The treatment of the behavioral sequelae of autism with dextromethorphan: a case report. 1613 36

To explore associations between psychiatric symptoms and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities in low-birth-weight adolescents, 55 very low-birth-weight (<or=1500 gm), 54 term small for gestational age (birth weight <10th centile) and 66 term control adolescents (birth weight >or=10th centile) were assessed at 14-15 years of age. Outcome measures were Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale IV, Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire, and qualitatively assessed cerebral magnetic resonance images. The very low-birth-weight group manifested increased prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and disorders compared with controls (P < 0.001), especially symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and high frequency of ventricular dilatation, white matter reduction, thinning of corpus callosum, and gliosis (P < 0.01 vs controls). The Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale score was significantly associated with white matter reduction and thinning of corpus callosum in this group. The term small for gestational age group had increased prevalence of psychiatric symptoms compared with control subjects, but not more frequent abnormalities on cerebral magnetic resonance imaging. In conclusion, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms were significantly associated with white matter reduction and thinning of corpus callosum in very low-birth-weight adolescents. No associations were found for other psychiatric symptoms and brain abnormalities in any of the groups.
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PMID:Low-birth-weight adolescents: psychiatric symptoms and cerebral MRI abnormalities. 1619 24

Many studies of eye tracking or event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in subjects with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) have yielded inconsistent results on attentional processing. However, recent studies have indicated that there are specific abnormalities in early processing that are probably related to perception. ERP amplitudes in response to visual stimuli, measured above the occipital (modality-specific) cortex, are reported to be abnormally small in patients with PDD, and the abnormal visual processing is possibly associated with the spatial visual frequency content of stimuli. It is suggested that subjects with PDD show abnormal activation of visual pathways dedicated to the processing of high and low spatial frequencies.
J Autism Dev Disord 2006 Jan
PMID:ERPs and eye movements reflect atypical visual perception in pervasive developmental disorder. 1637 70

Affect regulation (AR) and temperament were examined in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To determine AR, children were exposed to a mildly frustrating situation. Temperament was assessed by the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). Children with ASD showed greater variability in AR and used less effective AR strategies compared to controls. Lower academic ability was associated with less effective AR strategies for the ASD while for the controls older age predicted more effective AR strategies. Those with ASD were lower than controls in Attention Focusing, Inhibitory Control, and Soothability. Of the three overarching temperament factors of the CBQ, only Effortful Control but not Negative Affectivity and Surgency/Extraversion distinguished those with ASD from controls. For the ASD group, higher academic ability predicted higher Negative Affectivity. Fewer symptoms and older chronological age predicted higher Effortful Control.
J Autism Dev Disord 2006 Feb
PMID:Affect regulation and temperament in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. 1645 27

The overall prevalence rates of general and specific child psychiatric disorders in Danish children are unknown. In this study, which aimed to estimate prevalence rates, a multi-method strategy using a two-step design was employed. The first step involved assessment with the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). The second step consisted of assessment using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children; Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL), The Children's Global Assessment Scale (C-GAS), The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISCIII), The Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ), and a checklist containing the diagnostic criteria for Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). Non-respondents were assessed through teachers using a modified brief version of the K-SADS-PL. A total of 751 children were targeted. The overall estimated prevalence rate of child psychopathology was 11.8 % [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.8, 14.8]. Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was found to be the most common specific child psychiatric disorder. There was no difference in prevalence rates between respondents and non-respondents. The estimated prevalence rates were broadly comparable to prevalence rates found in other epidemiological studies. The teacher-based interview proved to be a valid instrument for the assessment of non-respondents.
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PMID:The population prevalence of child psychiatric disorders in Danish 8- to 9-year-old children. 1647 77

A multicenter study of 308 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) was conducted through the Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism (CPEA), sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, to compare the family history of autoimmune disorders in children with ASD with and without a history of regression. A history of regression was determined from the results of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). Family history of autoimmune disorders was obtained by telephone interview. Regression was significantly associated with a family history of autoimmune disorders (adjusted OR=1.89; 95% CI: 1.17, 3.10). The only specific autoimmune disorder found to be associated with regression was autoimmune thyroid disease (adjusted OR=2.09; 95% CI: 1.28, 3.41).
J Autism Dev Disord 2006 Apr
PMID:Familial autoimmune thyroid disease as a risk factor for regression in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a CPEA Study. 1659 35

In this study, the authors examined the construct validity of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder Rating Scale (PDDRS; R. C. Eaves, 1993), which is a screening instrument used to identify individuals with autistic disorder and other pervasive developmental disorders. The PDDRS is purported to measure 3 factors--arousal, affect, and cognition-that collectively make up the construct of autism. Using scores from 199 children (aged 1-6 years) diagnosed with autistic disorder, the authors submitted data to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. In the 1st series of analyses, the authors analyzed a user-specified 3-factor solution using principal axis factor analysis with a promax rotation to evaluate the assertion of a correlated 3-factor structure. Next, the authors analyzed 1-factor and 2-factor solutions to determine if they provided a better factor structure for the data. In the 2nd series, the authors conducted confirmatory factor analyses, which compared the theorized hierarchical 2nd-order factor model with 5 plausible competing models. The results of the exploratory analyses supported the 3-factor solution. With the confirmatory analyses, the 2nd-order factor model provided the best fit for the data. The exploratory and confirmatory analyses supported the theoretical assumptions undergirding the development of the PDDRS. The authors discuss theoretical implications, practical implications, and areas for further research.
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PMID:Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the pervasive developmental disorders rating scale for young children with autistic disorder. 1662 4

In the present study we investigated the co-morbidity of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) in 59 Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) individuals and in 59 non-specific mentally retarded controls, matched for IQ, gender, and age. The 'Pervasive Developmental Disorder Mentally Retardation Scale' (PDD-MRScale), a screening questionnaire based on the DSM-III-R criteria for PDD, has been applied in the PWS group and in the control group. Results of the present study revealed a striking autistic-like behavioral phenotype in the majority of the PWS individuals, particularly deficits in the quality of language and communication and of imagination and interests. This intersection with autistic symptomatology is an important addition to the behavioral phenotype in PWS persons. A first approach to delineate subtypes of autistic symptomalogy among PWS persons was performed. Nineteen percent of the PWS group did meet the full diagnostic DSM-III-R criteria for PDD in comparison with 15% in the control group. Results revealed that a higher IQ in PWS does not protect to develop genuine PDD and that uniparental disomy/imprinting mutation as genetic origin seems to be an additional risk factor for developing genuine PDD. The results of the present study suggest the importance of reconsidering the commonly recognized obsessive-compulsive like behavior in PWS persons within the broader spectrum of autism disorders.
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PMID:Pervasive developmental disorders in Prader-Willi syndrome: the Leuven experience in 59 subjects and controls. 1664 32

Several recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies have documented an impairment in face processing in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It remains unknown, however, what underlying mechanism gives rise to this face processing difficulty. One theory suggests that the difficulty derives from a pervasive problem in social interaction and/or motivation. An alternative view proposes that the face-processing problem is not entirely social in nature and that a visual perceptual impairment might also contribute. The focus of this review is on this latter, perceptual perspective, documenting the psychological and neural alterations that might account for the face processing impairment. The available evidence suggests that perceptual alterations are present in ASD, independent of social function.
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PMID:Seeing it differently: visual processing in autism. 1671 26

Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an autosomal recessive condition caused by a defect in cholesterol synthesis. Affected children often have malformations and mental retardation. Autistic behaviors also are evident. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in children with SLOS. Fourteen children, 3-16 years old, were evaluated using three different methods to document autistic symptoms: (a) parent interview, (b) direct observation, and (c) a behavior checklist. Blood sterols were also measured at regular intervals. Each subject was determined to have Autistic Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD NOS), or no diagnosis on the autism spectrum, based on DSM-IV criteria. Correlations among variables were calculated, and blood sterol levels were compared between diagnostic groups. Approximately three-fourths of the children with SLOS (71-86% depending on the evaluation method) had an ASD, about 50% diagnosed with Autistic Disorder and the rest with PDD NOS. The children's baseline cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC), and 8-dehydrocholesterol (8-DHC) levels, and cholesterol levels following supplementation did not correlate with the presence or severity of autistic symptoms. These results suggest that most children with SLOS have some variant of autism. SLOS appears to have the most consistent relationship with autism of any single gene disorder. Therefore, a link between cholesterol metabolism and autism is suggested. With further study, these findings, together with knowledge of the genetic and biochemical defects in SLOS, will likely provide valuable insights into the causes of autism in general.
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PMID:The near universal presence of autism spectrum disorders in children with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. 1676 Dec 97


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