1. Bae YS, Chiang HM, Hickson L. {{Mathematical Word Problem Solving Ability of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Typically Developing Peers}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2015 (Feb 15)
This study examined the difference between children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and children with typical development (TD) in mathematical word problem solving ability and the factors associated with these children’s word problem-solving ability. A total of 20 children with ASD and 20 children with TD participated in this study. Independent sample t tests and Spearman’s rho correlations were used for data analysis. This study found: (a) Children with TD had higher word problem solving ability than did children with ASD; (b) Sentence comprehension, math vocabulary, computation, and everyday mathematical knowledge were associated with word problem solving ability of children with ASD and children with TD; and (c) Children with TD had higher everyday mathematical knowledge than did children with ASD.
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2. Bonaccorso CM, Spatuzza M, Dimarco B, Gloria A, Barrancotto G, Cupo A, Musumeci SA, D’Antoni S, Bardoni B, Catania MV. {{Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) interacting proteins exhibit different expression patterns during development}}. {Int J Dev Neurosci};2015 (Feb 11)
Fragile X syndrome is caused by the lack of expression of Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein involved in mRNA transport and translation. FMRP is a component of mRNA ribonucleoprotein complexes and it can interact with a range of proteins either directly or indirectly, as demonstrated by two-hybrid selection and co-immunoprecipitation, respectively. Most of FMRP-interacting proteins are RNA-binding proteins such as FXR1P, FXR2P and 82-FIP. Interestingly, FMRP can also interact directly with the cytoplasmic proteins CYFIP1 and CYFIP2, which do not bind RNA and link FMRP to the RhoGTPase pathway. The interaction with these different proteins may modulate the functions of FMRP by influencing its affinity to RNA and by affecting the FMRP ability of cytoskeleton remodeling through Rho/Rac GTPases. To better define the relationship of FMRP with its interacting proteins during brain development, we have analyzed the expression pattern of FMRP and its interacting proteins in the cortex, striatum, hippocampus and cerebellum at different ages in wild type (WT). FMRP and FXR2P were strongly expressed during the first week and gradually decrease thereafter, more rapidly in the cerebellum than in the cortex. FXR1P was also expressed early and showed a reduction at later stages of development with a similar developmental pattern in these two regions. CYFIP1 was expressed at all ages and peaked in the third post-natal week. In contrast, CYFIP2 and 82-FIP (only in forebrain regions) were moderately expressed at P3 and gradually increased after P7. In general, the expression pattern of each protein was similar in the regions examined, except for 82-FIP, which exhibited a strong expression at P3 and low at later developmental stages in the cerebellum. Our data indicate that FMRP and its interacting proteins have distinct developmental patterns of expression and suggest that FMRP may be preferentially associated to certain proteins in early and late developmental periods. In particular, the RNA binding and cytoskeleton remodeling functions of FMRP may be differently modulated during development.
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3. de Bildt A, Sytema S, Zander E, Bolte S, Sturm H, Yirmiya N, Yaari M, Charman T, Salomone E, LeCouteur A, Green J, Bedia RC, Primo PG, van Daalen E, de Jonge MV, Guethmundsdottir E, Johannsdottir S, Raleva M, Boskovska M, Roge B, Baduel S, Moilanen I, Yliherva A, Buitelaar J, Oosterling IJ. {{Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) Algorithms for Toddlers and Young Preschoolers: Application in a Non-US Sample of 1,104 Children}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2015 (Feb 15)
The current study aimed to investigate the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) algorithms for toddlers and young preschoolers (Kim and Lord, J Autism Dev Disord 42(1):82-93, 2012) in a non-US sample from ten sites in nine countries (n = 1,104). The construct validity indicated a good fit of the algorithms. The diagnostic validity was lower, with satisfactorily high specificities but moderate sensitivities. Young children with clinical ASD and lower language ability were largely in the mild-to-moderate or moderate-to-severe concern ranges of the ADI-R, nearly half of the older and phrase speech ASD-group fell into the little-to-no concern range. Although broadly the findings support the toddler algorithms, further work is required to understand why they might have different properties in different samples to further inform research and clinical use.
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4. Theoharides TC, Athanassiou M, Panagiotidou S, Doyle R. {{Dysregulated brain immunity and neurotrophin signaling in Rett syndrome and autism spectrum disorders}}. {J Neuroimmunol};2015 (Feb 15);279C:33-38.
Rett syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which occurs in about 1:15,000 females and presents with neurologic and communication defects. It is transmitted as an X-linked dominant linked to mutations of the methyl-CpG-binding protein (MeCP2), a gene transcription suppressor, but its definitive pathogenesis is unknown thus hindering development of effective treatments. Almost half of children with Rett syndrome also have behavioral symptoms consistent with those of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). PubMed was searched (2005-2014) using the terms: allergy, atopy, brain, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), cytokines, gene mutations, inflammation, mast cells (MCs), microglia, mitochondria, neurotensin (NT), neurotrophins, seizures, stress, and treatment. There are a number of intriguing differences and similarities between Rett syndrome and ASDs. Rett syndrome occurs in females, while ASDs more often in males, and the former has neurologic disabilities unlike ASDs. There is evidence of dysregulated immune system early in life in both conditions. Lack of microglial phagocytosis and decreased levels of BDNF appear to distinguish Rett syndrome from ASDs, in which there is instead microglia activation and/or proliferation and possibly defective BDNF signaling. Moreover, brain mast cell (MC) activation and focal inflammation may be more prominent in ASDs than Rett syndrome. The flavonoid luteolin blocks microglia and MC activation, provides BDNF-like activity, reverses Rett phenotype in mouse models, and has a significant benefit in children with ASDs. Appropriate formulations of luteolin or other natural molecules may be useful in the treatment of Rett syndrome.
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5. Zerbo O, Leong A, Barcellos L, Bernal P, Fireman B, Croen LA. {{Immune Mediated Conditions in Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Brain Behav Immun};2015 (Feb 11)
We conducted a case-control study among members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) born between 1980 and 2003 to determine the prevalence of immune-mediated conditions in individuals with autism, investigate whether these conditions occur more often than expected, and explore the timing of onset relative to autism diagnosis. Cases were children and young adults with at least two autism diagnoses recorded in outpatient records (n=5,565). Controls were children without autism randomly sampled at a ratio of 5 to 1, matched to cases on birth year, sex, and length of KPNC membership (n=27,825). The main outcomes – asthma, allergies, and autoimmune diseases – were identified from KPNC inpatient and outpatient databases. Chi-square tests were used to evaluate case-control differences. Allergies and autoimmune diseases were diagnosed significantly more often among children with autism than among controls (allergy: 20.6% vs. 17.7%, Crude odds ratio (OR) = 1.22, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13 – 1.31; autoimmune disease: 1% vs. 0.76%, OR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.01 – 1.83), and asthma was diagnosed significantly less often (13.7% vs. 15.9%; OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.76 – 0.90). Psoriasis occurred more than twice as often in cases than in controls (0.34% vs. 0.15%; OR =2.35, 95% CI 1.36 – 4.08). Our results support previous observations that children with autism have elevated prevalence of specific immune-related comorbidities.
