1. Baird JS, Ravindranath TM. {{Vitamin B Deficiencies in a Critically Ill Autistic Child With a Restricted Diet}}. {Nutr Clin Pract};2014 (Aug 11)
An 11-year-old male with autism became less responsive and was hospitalized with hepatomegaly and liver dysfunction, as well as severe lactic acidosis. His diet for several years was self-limited exclusively to a single « fast food »-a particular type of fried chicken-and was deficient in multiple micronutrients, including the B vitamins thiamine and pyridoxine. Lactic acidosis improved rapidly with thiamine; 2 weeks later, status epilepticus-with low serum pyridoxine-resolved rapidly with pyridoxine. Dietary B vitamin deficiencies complicated the care of this critically ill autistic child and should be considered in this setting.
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2. Barnard-Brak L, Thompson S, Wei T, Richman D. {{Assistive technology as a predictor of general or alternate assessment among elementary-aged students with autism spectrum disorders}}. {Assist Technol};2014 (Summer);26(2):81-87.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 specifically mandates that all students participate in the general assessment process or some form of alternate assessment as a measure of school accountability for student academic progress. Although levels of communication difficulties, intellectual impairment, and specific diagnoses such as autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are correlated with increased probability of participating in alternate assessment methods, very little empirical research has focused on identifying predictors for students’ assessment modality. Archival data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS; 2005) were used to examine variables that predict whether elementary school students with ASD participated in the general or alternate assessment. Results indicated that receptive and expressive communication abilities appear to influence participation in the general vs. alternate assessment in tandem with access to assistive technology. Students with ASDs were approximately 2.71 times more likely to participate in the general assessment when they had access to assistive technology. Next, we performed a second, follow-up analysis for only ASD students with communication problems. The odds ratio value increased to 14.9 indicating that ASD students with communication problems that had access to assistive technology were almost 15 times more likely to participate in the general assessment than students with communication problems without access to assistive technology.
3. Evans B. {{Book review: mitzi waltz, autism: a social and medical history}}. {Hist Psychiatry};2014 (Sep);25(3):381-383.
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4. Hooker BS. {{Measles-mumps-rubella vaccination timing and autism among young african american boys: a reanalysis of CDC data}}. {Transl Neurodegener};2014;3:16.
BACKGROUND: A significant number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder suffer a loss of previously-acquired skills, suggesting neurodegeneration or a type of progressive encephalopathy with an etiological basis occurring after birth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectof the age at which children got their first Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine on autism incidence. This is a reanalysis of the data set, obtained from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC), used for the Destefano et al. 2004 publication on the timing of the first MMR vaccine and autism diagnoses. METHODS: The author embarked on the present study to evaluate whether a relationship exists between child age when the first MMR vaccine was administered among cases diagnosed with autism and controls born between 1986 through 1993 among school children in metropolitan Atlanta. The Pearson’s chi-squared method was used to assess relative risks of receiving an autism diagnosis within the total cohort as well as among different race and gender categories. RESULTS: When comparing cases and controls receiving their first MMR vaccine before and after 36 months of age, there was a statistically significant increase in autism cases specifically among African American males who received the first MMR prior to 36 months of age. Relative risks for males in general and African American males were 1.69 (p=0.0138) and 3.36 (p=0.0019), respectively. Additionally, African American males showed an odds ratio of 1.73 (p=0.0200) for autism cases in children receiving their first MMR vaccine prior to 24 months of age versus 24 months of age and thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides new epidemiologic evidence showing that African American males receiving the MMR vaccine prior to 24 months of age or 36 months of age are more likely to receive an autism diagnosis.
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5. Kim SW, Cho KJ. {{Activity-dependent alterations in the sensitivity to BDNF-TrkB signaling may promote excessive dendritic arborization and spinogenesis in fragile X syndrome in order to compensate for compromised postsynaptic activity}}. {Med Hypotheses};2014 (Jul 18)
Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common cause of inherited human mental retardation, results from the loss of function of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). To date, most researchers have thought that FXS neural pathologies are primarily caused by extreme dendritic branching and spine formation. With this rationale, several researchers attempted to prune dendritic branches and reduce the number of spines in FXS animal models. We propose that increased dendritic arborization and spinogenesis in FXS are developed rather as secondary compensatory responses to counteract the compromised postsynaptic activity during uncontrollable metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-dependent long-term depression (LTD). When postsynaptic and electrical activities become dampened in FXS, dendritic trees can increase their sensitivity to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by using the molecular sensor called eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) and taking advantage of the tight coupling of mGluR and BDNF-TrkB signaling pathways. Then, this activity-dependent elevation of the BDNF signaling can strategically alter dendritic morphologies to foster branching and develop spine structures in order to improve the postsynaptic response in FXS. Our model suggests a new therapeutic rationale for FXS: correcting the postsynaptic and electrical activity first, and then repairing structural abnormalities of dendrites. Then, it may be possible to successfully fix the dendritic morphologies without affecting the survival of neurons. Our theory may also be generalized to explain aberrant dendritic structures observed in other neurobehavioral diseases, such as tuberous sclerosis, Rett syndrome, schizophrenia, and channelopathies, which accompany high postsynaptic and electrical activity.
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6. Kral TV, Souders MC, Tompkins VH, Remiker AM, Eriksen WT, Pinto-Martin JA. {{Child Eating Behaviors and Caregiver Feeding Practices in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Public Health Nurs};2014 (Aug 11)
OBJECTIVE: This pilot study compared children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing children (TDC) on weight-related outcomes and caregiver-reported child eating behaviors and feeding practices. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: Cross-sectional study. Caregivers of 25 children with ASD and 30 TDC, ages 4-6. METHODS: Caregivers completed validated questionnaires that assessed child eating behaviors and feeding practices. Children’s height, weight, and waist circumference were measured. RESULTS: Children with ASD, when compared to TDC, showed significantly greater abdominal waist circumferences (p = .01) and waist-to-height ratios (p < .001). Children with ASD with atypical oral sensory sensitivity exhibited greater food avoidance behaviors, including reluctance to eat novel foods (p = .004), being selective about the range of foods they accept (p = .03), and undereating due to negative emotions (p = .02), than children with ASD with typical oral sensory sensitivity. Caregivers of children with ASD with atypical oral sensory sensitivity reported using food to regulate negative child emotions to a greater extent than caregivers of children with typical oral sensory sensitivity (p = .02). DISCUSSION: Children with ASD, especially those with atypical oral sensory sensitivity, are at increased risk for food avoidance behaviors and may require additional support in several feeding domains.
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7. Paquette-Smith M, Weiss J, Lunsky Y. {{History of suicide attempts in adults with asperger syndrome}}. {Crisis};2014 (Jan 1);35(4):273-277.
BACKGROUND: Individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) may be at higher risk for attempting suicide compared to the general population. AIMS: This study examines the issue of suicidality in adults with AS. METHOD: An online survey was completed by 50 adults from across Ontario. The sample was dichotomized into individuals who had attempted suicide (n = 18) and those who had not (n = 32). We examined the relationship between predictor variables and previous attempts, and compared the services that both groups are currently receiving. RESULTS: Over 35% of individuals with AS reported that they had attempted suicide in the past. Individuals who attempted suicide were more likely to have a history of depression and self-reported more severe autism symptomatology. Those with and without a suicidal history did not differ in terms of the services they were currently receiving. This study looks at predictors retrospectively and cannot ascertain how long ago the attempt was made. Although efforts were made to obtain a representative sample, there is the possibility that the individuals surveyed may be more or less distressed than the general population with AS. CONCLUSION: The suicide attempt rate in our sample is much higher than the 4.6% lifetime prevalence seen in the general population. These findings highlight a need for more specialized services to help prevent future attempts and to support this vulnerable group.
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8. Stein LI, Lane CJ, Williams ME, Dawson ME, Polido JC, Cermak SA. {{Physiological and Behavioral Stress and Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders during Routine Oral Care}}. {Biomed Res Int};2014;2014:694876.
Background. Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) commonly exhibit uncooperative behaviors which impede oral care. Previous studies have utilized dentist-report measures of uncooperative behaviors in children with ASD but none have utilized an objective measure of children’s behavior or a physiological measure of distress. This study investigated behavioral and physiological distress in children with ASD during routine oral care and examined factors associated with this distress. Methods. Participants were 44 children (n = 22 typical, n = 22 ASD) aged 6-12 receiving routine dental cleanings. Behavioral and physiological measures of stress and anxiety were collected during dental cleanings. Results. Children with ASD exhibited greater distress, compared to the typical group, on dentist-report and researcher-coded measures of overt distress behaviors and on physiological measures. Correlations between physiological and behavioral measures of distress were found in the ASD but not in the typical group. Behavioral distress was correlated with age in the typical group and with expressive communication ability and sensory processing difficulties in the ASD group; physiological distress was correlated with parent-report of anxiety in the typical group and sensory processing difficulties in the ASD group. Conclusions. Novel strategies may be required to decrease behavioral and physiological distress in children with ASD in the dental clinic.
