1. Au-Yeung SK, Bradley L, Robertson AE, Shaw R, Baron-Cohen S, Cassidy S. {{Experience of mental health diagnosis and perceived misdiagnosis in autistic, possibly autistic and non-autistic adults}}. {Autism};2018 (Dec 14):1362361318818167.
Previous research shows that autistic people have high levels of co-occurring mental health conditions. Yet, a number of case reports have revealed that mental health conditions are often misdiagnosed in autistic individuals. A total of 420 adults who identified as autistic, possibly autistic or non-autistic completed an online survey consisting of questions regarding mental health diagnoses they received, whether they agreed with those diagnoses and if not why. Autistic and possibly autistic participants were more likely to report receiving mental health diagnoses compared to non-autistic participants, but were less likely to agree with those diagnoses. Thematic analysis revealed the participants’ main reasons for disagreement were that (1) they felt their autism characteristics were being confused with mental health conditions by healthcare professionals and (2) they perceived their own mental health difficulties to be resultant of ASC. Participants attributed these to the clinical barriers they experienced, including healthcare professionals’ lack of autism awareness and lack of communication, which in turn prevented them from receiving appropriate support. This study highlights the need for autism awareness training for healthcare professionals and the need to develop tools and interventions to accurately diagnose and effectively treat mental health conditions in autistic individuals.
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2. Boshoff K, Gibbs D, Phillips RL, Wiles L, Porter L. {{A meta-synthesis of how parents of children with autism describe their experience of advocating for their children during the process of diagnosis}}. {Health Soc Care Community};2018 (Dec 12)
The diagnostic process for children with autism can be complex for parents to navigate as they advocate for their child in order to obtain answers to their concerns, and receive the subsequent support they need. Gaining an understanding of parents’ experiences during this process, will assist service providers in supporting families adequately. This systematic review was undertaken to consolidate in-depth qualitative data from parents of their experience of advocating for their child with autism, during the process of diagnosis. A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted, whereby fifteen databases were systematically searched. Twenty-two studies were identified and appraised using an adapted version of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. Data were synthesised into themes through the steps of review, meta-aggregation, integration, and interpretation. The date range of the included studies spans 1999-2016. The voices of 1,178 parents are presented in this review describing their experiences in two overarching themes: « Pathway to diagnosis-Confusion and not feeling heard »; and « Pursuing diagnosis-Resilience and commitment. » Each one of these main themes had sub-themes. Our findings highlight the intense emotional journey for parents during identification of their initial concerns and the formal process of diagnosis, and their perceptions of not being supported by others on this journey. This review illustrates the significant impact that positive experiences with first-line professionals have during the process of diagnosis, and how these experiences lay the foundation for all future relationships with other service providers. As a result, awareness of parents’ experiences will assist service providers to reconsider their communication style, information sharing, provision of support and to incorporate parents’ contributions in facilitating a more streamlined and more supportive process of diagnosis.
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3. Chin WC, Li HM, Chao KY, Chang HL. {{Stressors experienced by children with autism spectrum disorder in Taiwan: Perspectives of children and their parents}}. {Nurs Health Sci};2018 (Dec 11)
Autism spectrum disorder has only recently been recognized as a developmental disability in Taiwan. We conducted an exploratory qualitative descriptive study with children (n = 14, mean age = 13.57 years) and their parents to understand stressors experienced by children with autism spectrum disorder in Taiwan. An analysis of face-to-face interviews revealed that children with autism spectrum disorder experienced stressors of daily living, which included environmental stimuli, academic and behavioral expectations, deviations in routine, behavioral expectations, and emotional control, and stressors of socializing, which included bullying, communication, personal interactions, conflict resolution, and difficulty understanding others’ emotions. Stressors resulted from the core symptoms and characteristic behaviors of autism spectrum disorders, and also Taiwanese cultural expectations. Our findings could help develop individualized educational plans and culturally-sensitive behavioral interventions. Facilitation of these interventions could be used by nurses and health-care professionals to help facilitate problem solving and communication skills, which could reduce the stress for children with autism spectrum disorder in Taiwan.
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4. Cogill SB, Srivastava AK, Yang MQ, Wang L. {{Co-expression of long non-coding RNAs and autism risk genes in the developing human brain}}. {BMC Syst Biol};2018 (Dec 14);12(Suppl 7):91.
BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the umbrella term for a group of neurodevelopmental disorders convergent on behavioral phenotypes. While many genes have been implicated in the disorder, the predominant focus of previous research has been on protein coding genes. This leaves a vast number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) not characterized for their role in the disorder although lncRNAs have been shown to play important roles in development and are highly represented in the brain. Studies have also shown lncRNAs to be differentially expressed in ASD affected brains. However, there has yet to be an enrichment analysis of the shared ontologies and pathways of known ASD genes and lncRNAs in normal brain development. RESULTS: In this study, we performed co-expression network analysis on the developing brain transcriptome to identify potential lncRNAs associated with ASD and possible annotations for functional role of lncRNAs in brain development. We found co-enrichment of lncRNA genes and ASD risk genes in two distinct groups of modules showing elevated prenatal and postnatal expression patterns, respectively. Further enrichment analysis of the module groups indicated that the early expression modules were comprised mainly of transcriptional regulators while the later expression modules were associated with synapse formation. Finally, lncRNAs were prioritized for their connectivity with the known ASD risk genes through analysis of an adjacency matrix. Collectively, the results imply early developmental repression of synaptic genes through lncRNAs and ASD transcriptional regulators. CONCLUSION: Here we demonstrate the utility of mining the publically available brain gene expression data to further functionally annotate the role of lncRNAs in ASD. Our analysis indicates that lncRNAs potentially have a key role in ASD due to their convergence on shared pathways, and we identify lncRNAs of interest that may lead to further avenues of study.
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5. Cubicciotti JE, Vladescu JC, Reeve KF, Carroll RA, Schnell LK. {{Effects of stimulus presentation order during auditory-visual conditional discrimination training for children with autism spectrum disorder}}. {J Appl Behav Anal};2018 (Dec 14)
Children with autism spectrum disorder are typically taught conditional discriminations using a match-to-sample arrangement. Consideration should be given to the temporal order in which antecedent stimuli (the sample and comparison stimuli) are presented during match-to-sample trials, as various arrangements have been used in the extant literature. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of four stimulus presentation orders on the acquisition of auditory-visual conditional discriminations. The study included participants from a clinically relevant population (three children with autism spectrum disorder), employed clinically relevant teaching procedures, and included two presentation formats not included in previous comparison evaluations (simultaneous and sample-first with re-presentation conditions). Results were found to be learner-specific; that is, a different stimulus presentation format was most efficient for each participant. We provide suggestions to evaluate stimulus control topographies and enhance experimental control in match-to-sample arrangements.
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6. Edwards KA, Madden AMK, Zup SL. {{Serotonin receptor regulation as a potential mechanism for sexually dimorphic oxytocin dysregulation in a model of Autism}}. {Brain Res};2018 (Dec 15);1701:85-92.
Perinatal administration of serotonin (5HT) agonist 5-methoxytryptamine (5MT) induces developmental hyperserotonemia (DHS; elevated blood serotonin) and produces behavioral and neurochemical changes in rats relevant to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), such as oxytocin dysregulation. Disruption of the oxytocin system may underlie many of the social deficits present in ASD individuals, thus we investigated the mechanism(s) underlying DHS-induced oxytocin dysregulation. The most parsimonious mechanism of 5HT action would be alteration of 5HT receptors on oxytocin cells; 5HT is known to influence cell survival as well as influence oxytocin release via 5HT1A and 5HT2A receptors, which co-localize in oxytocin-expressing (OXT+) cells in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. We report that both male and female DHS rats have a lower percentage of OXT+ cells co-localized with excitatory 5HT2A receptors than control animals, while only DHS females have a higher percentage of OXT+ cells co-localized with inhibitory 5HT1A receptors compared to controls. Importantly, DHS also reduces the number of OXT+ cells in the PVN of adult male, but not female, rats. This pattern suggests that females, but not males, can regulate 5HT receptors in response to DHS in a manner that promotes oxytocin cell survival and functional efficiency. In addition, it has been previously reported that DHS alters normal juvenile play, especially in males, thus we also tested play partner preference among juvenile control and DHS males. Sex differences observed using the DHS model of ASD add to its validity, given the pronounced male sex bias in the prevalence of ASD, and emphasize the need for inclusion of both sexes in ASD research.
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7. Erickson CA, Kaufmann WE, Budimirovic DB, Lachiewicz A, Haas-Givler B, Miller RM, Weber JD, Abbeduto L, Hessl D, Hagerman RJ, Berry-Kravis E. {{Best Practices in Fragile X Syndrome Treatment Development}}. {Brain Sci};2018 (Dec 15);8(12)
Preclinical studies using animal models of fragile X syndrome have yielded several agents that rescue a wide variety of phenotypes. However, translation of these treatments to humans with the disorder has not yet been successful, shedding light on a variety of limitations with both animal models and human trial design. As members of the Clinical Trials Committee of the National Fragile X Foundation, we have discussed a variety of recommendations at the level of preclinical development, transition from preclinical to human projects, family involvement, and multi-site trial planning. Our recommendations are made with the vision that effective new treatment will lie at the intersection of innovation, rigorous and reproducible research, and stakeholder involvement.
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8. Geetha B, Sukumar C, Dhivyadeepa E, Reddy JK, Balachandar V. {{Autism in India: a case-control study to understand the association between socio-economic and environmental risk factors}}. {Acta Neurol Belg};2018 (Dec 15)
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder and the cause of autism is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of socioeconomic, environmental, pregnancy and newborn-related risk factors among children with autism spectrum disorders. This was a population-based case-control study. The study included 55 children with autism spectrum disorder and 55 age and sex matched typically developing normal children (TD) between 3 and 12 years. Several socio-economic factors, environmental factors, pregnancy related, natal, post-natal factors and the first noticed signs by the parents were analyzed. Chi-square test was used to compare nominal variables. For multivariate analysis, forward stepwise logistic regression model was employed to examine the association between autism and the chances that the child develops ASD to assess the odds ratios. Male predominance was observed in the study. Logistic regression model showed statistical significance of the following factors: paternal age greater than 40 years, family history of autism, nutrition during pregnancy, mode of labor, fetal hypoxia, NICU stay and history of breast feeding. In this epidemiological study of autism in Coimbatore city, we found correlation between several environmental factors during fetal development and can be transmitted to succeeding generations, causing atypical behavior phenotypes. The exact exposure magnitude, exposure time in relation to vital developmental periods need to be studied to understand the influence of socioeconomic and environmental factors, which can be improved to prevent ASD-related challenges.
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9. Hand BN, Boan AD, Bradley CC, Charles JM, Carpenter LA. {{Ambulatory Care Sensitive Admissions in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disability, and Population Controls}}. {Autism Res};2018 (Dec 14)
Ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) admissions are those for which effective primary care can prevent the need for emergency department (ED) visits and inpatient hospitalizations, and are an indicator of primary care access. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or intellectual disability (ID) may be at higher risk for ACS admissions than individuals in the general population due to difficulty accessing primary care. The objective of this study was to compare the incidence of ACS admissions among four cohorts of individuals aged 2-24 years: ASD without co-occurring ID (ASD-only), ASD with co-occurring ID (ASD + ID), ID without ASD (ID-only), and population controls (PC). Data from ED visits and inpatient hospitalizations occurring between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2015 were examined to identify ACS admissions. Generalized linear models were used to examine differences between cohorts on the number of ACS ED visits and inpatient hospitalizations. Results revealed the ASD + ID and ID-only cohorts had significantly higher rates of ACS inpatient hospitalizations than the PC cohort. Additionally, the ID-only cohort had higher rates of ACS ED visits than the PC cohort. The ASD-only and PC cohorts did not differ on incidence of ACS admissions. These findings suggest that presence of an ID with or without co-occurring ASD increased the risk for ACS inpatient hospitalizations, and presence of ID-only increased the risk for ACS ED visits. Future work should examine trajectories of ACS admissions over time and consider inclusion of additional characteristics that may elucidate reasons for differences in ACS admissions among these groups. Autism Res 2018. (c) 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Preventable hospitalizations are a common indicator of problems with access to quality primary healthcare. Findings of this study suggest that individuals with intellectual disability, with or without autism spectrum disorder, have higher rates of preventable hospitalizations than the general population. Further research is needed to understand how to improve access to primary care and reduce preventable hospitalizations for this vulnerable population.
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10. Herringshaw AJ, Kumar SL, Rody KN, Kana RK. {{Neural Correlates of Social Perception in Children with Autism: Local versus Global Preferences}}. {Neuroscience};2018 (Dec 15);395:49-59.
The Weak Central Coherence account of autism spectrum disorders posits that individuals with ASD utilize a detail-oriented information processing bias. While this local bias is helpful in visual search tasks, ASD individuals falter in social cognition tasks where coherence is advantageous. The present study examined the neural correlates of Weak Central Coherence in ASD during visual and social processing. Fifteen ASD and sixteen typically developing children/adolescents completed a social/visual information processing task in an fMRI scanner. The stimuli consisted of human characters, composed of geometrical shapes, displaying different emotions. In the locally oriented Shape condition, participants indicated whether a given shape was present in a figure. In the Emotion condition, participants identified the emotion conveyed by the character in the figure at the global level. Whole-brain within- and between-group activation and seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analyses were conducted in SPM12 and the CONN toolbox. The ASD group was significantly faster in shape identification, but less accurate in emotion identification. The TD group showed significantly increased areas of activity over the ASD group in the Shape task in regions associated with executive control, such as the medial prefrontal cortex and middle frontal gyrus, suggesting increased interference from the global/social information. During the Emotion condition, the ASD group showed decreased connectivity between frontal and posterior regions and between body perception and motor networks, suggesting a possible difference in mirroring. The findings suggest that social cognitive factors, not visual processing biases, underlie the observed behavioral differences.
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11. Kidd V. {{Risperidone-Induced Tardive Dyskinesia in an Autistic Child}}. {Prim Care Companion CNS Disord};2018 (Dec 6);20(6)
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12. Lo YC, Chen YJ, Hsu YC, Chien YL, Gau SS, Tseng WI. {{Altered frontal aslant tracts as a heritable neural basis of social communication deficits in autism spectrum disorder: A sibling study using tract-based automatic analysis}}. {Autism Res};2018 (Dec 12)
Investigating social behaviors and brain structural alterations in unaffected siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may help identify intermediate phenotypes of social communication deficits in ASD. This study hypothesized that such intermediate phenotypes could be identified in white matter tracts of the social communication model that exhibited reduced tract integrity and associations with social communication deficits. Boys with ASD (N = 30), unaffected male siblings (N = 27), and typically developing (TD) boys (N = 30) underwent clinical evaluation and MRI scanning. Group differences in generalized fractional anisotropy (GFA) values, a white matter integrity index derived from diffusion MRI data, and the relationships of GFA with the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/4-18) scores were investigated. Significant differences were found in the GFA values of the frontal aslant tract (FAT) among the three groups, with the decreasing order of GFA from TD to siblings to ASD. The GFA values of the FAT were associated with the social communication scores (on the SRS) in the sibling group, and those of the superior longitudinal fasciculus III were associated with the social problems scores (on the CBCL/4-18) in the boys with ASD. Due to the altered tract integrity and association with social communication deficits in the unaffected siblings of individuals with ASD, the FAT might be a heritable neural basis for social communication deficits of ASD. Autism Res 2018. (c) 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of highly heritable disorders with social communication deficits as one of the core symptoms. This study aimed to identify a neural trait of social communication deficits in individuals with ASD. We investigated brain structural alterations and their associations with social communication scores in unaffected siblings of individuals with ASD. The siblings’ frontal aslant tract was found to be impaired, and this tract showed a significant association with the social communication scores. Our findings support that the frontal aslant tract might be a potential neural trait of social communication deficits in ASD.
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13. Mehra C, Sil A, Hedderly T, Kyriakopoulos M, Lim M, Turnbull J, Happe F, Baird G, Absoud M. {{Childhood disintegrative disorder and autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review}}. {Dev Med Child Neurol};2018 (Dec 13)
AIM: In an attempt to clarify the debate surrounding the diagnostic validity of childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD), we systematically reviewed its characteristics and compared it with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD: Four databases were searched (PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, and Web of Science). Included articles had participants with CDD, as defined by symptoms present in the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision and the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision. Comparison groups were those with ASD and ASD with regression. Case studies were excluded. RESULTS: Twenty articles, comprising 96 participants with CDD (80 males, 16 females), were included. Most studies were cross-sectional. The prevalence of CDD was 1.1 to 9.2 per 100 000, with a mean age at regression of 3 years 2 months (SD 1y 1mo), with a range of 2 years to 7 years. In addition to core CDD symptoms, most had intellectual impairment, anxiety, challenging behaviours, and regressed in toileting skills. Participants with CDD and ASD shared core diagnostic and extra-diagnostic features. However, participants with CDD seemed to have more severe symptoms and a different symptom profile, including apparently typical development before regression, faster regression, more affective symptoms, and more global developmental deficit. Possible genetic and autoimmune neurobiological mechanisms were identified. INTERPRETATION: There is limited high-quality evidence describing the aetiology and outcomes of CDD. However, given the qualitative and prognostic differences between ASD and CDD, we recommend that future diagnostic criteria should distinguish late-onset regression.
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14. Sadigurschi N, Golan HM. {{Maternal and offspring MTHFR genotypes interact in a mouse model to induce ASD-like behavior}}. {Genes Brain Behav};2018 (Dec 15):e12547.
Individuals with autism constitute a variable population whose members are spread along the autism spectrum. Sub-populations within that spectrum exhibit other conditions, such as anxiety, intellectual disabilities, hyperactivity and epilepsy, with different severities and co-occurrences. Among the genes associated with the increased risk for autism is the methylenetetrahydrofolate-reductase (MTHFR) 677C>T polymorphism, which impairs one-carbon metabolic pathway efficiency. The frequency of the MTHFR677TT homozygote is markedly higher among autism patients and their mothers than in the general population. Here we report on the Mthfr heterozygous knockout mouse as a rodent model of autism that demonstrates the contributions of maternal and offspring genotypes to the development of autistic-like behaviors. Maternal Mthfr-deficiency was associated with developmental delays in morphogenic features and sensory-motor reflexes in offspring. In the adult male mouse, behaviors representing core autism symptoms, such as repetitive behavior and restricted interest, were affected by maternal genotype while social behaviors were affected by both maternal and offspring genotypes. In females and males, behaviors associated with autism such as memory impairment, social aggression and anxiety were affected by both the maternal and offspring Mthfr genotypes, with sex dependent differences. Mthfr-deficient male mice with observable impacts on behavior presented a particular laminar disturbance in parvalbumin interneuron density and innervation in superficial and deep layers of the cingulate cortex. This mouse model of autism will help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that predispose a significant subgroup of autistic patients to abnormal development and to distinguish between the in-utero and autonomous factors involved in autism.
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15. Schoen SA, Lane SJ, Mailloux Z, May-Benson T, Parham LD, Smith Roley S, Schaaf RC. {{A Systematic Review of Ayres Sensory Integration Intervention for Children with Autism}}. {Autism Res};2018 (Dec 12)
Sensory integration is one of the most highly utilized interventions in autism, however, a lack of consensus exists regarding its evidence base. An increasing number of studies are investigating the effectiveness of this approach. This study used the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Standards for Evidence-based Practices in Special Education to evaluate the effectiveness research from 2006 to 2017 on Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) intervention for children with autism. A systematic review was conducted in three stages. Stage 1 involved an extensive database search for relevant studies using search terms related to sensory integration and autism, interventions suggesting a sensory integration approach, and high-quality study designs. Searches yielded 19 studies that were evaluated in Stage 2. Six of these met inclusion criteria of being peer-reviewed, written in English, description of intervention this is consistent with ASI intervention, and comparison group design or single subject method employed. Prior to analysis using CEC standards, three articles were excluded because intervention details were not consistent with the core principles of ASI, or because of major methodological flaws. In Stage 3, the remaining three studies were rated using the CEC quality indicators and standards for an evidence-based practice. Two randomized controlled trials respectively met 100% and 85% of the CEC criteria items. One additional study met more than 50% of the criteria. Based on CEC criteria, ASI can be considered an evidence-based practice for children with autism ages 4-12 years old. Autism Res 2018. (c) 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Ayres Sensory Integration intervention is one of the most frequently requested and highly utilized interventions in autism. This intervention has specific requirements for therapist qualifications and the process of therapy. This systematic review of studies providing Ayres Sensory Integration therapy to children with autism indicates that it is an evidence-based practice according to the criteria of the Council for Exceptional Children.
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16. Siddiqi S, Urooj A, D’Souza MJ. {{Dietary Patterns and Anthropometric Measures of Indian Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2018 (Dec 15)
Research literature on dietary patterns & eating habits of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in India is limited. To explore this, a pilot study (n = 53) which included 45 boys and 8 girls (age group of 2-13 years) was conducted. Three day food records, Food Frequency Questionnaire and Children Eating Behavior Inventory were used to assess the dietary intakes and mealtime behavior problems respectively. Findings revealed lower intake of fruits and vegetables which reflected on their micronutrient status which was significantly (p Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
17. Wiedemann A, Renard E, Hernandez M, Dousset B, Brezin F, Lambert L, Weryha G, Feillet F. {{Annual Injection of Zoledronic Acid Improves Bone Status in Children with Cerebral Palsy and Rett Syndrome}}. {Calcif Tissue Int};2018 (Dec 15)
Osteoporosis is a common complication of cerebral palsy and Rett’s syndrome. It is responsible for multiple fractures, bone pain, and impaired quality of life. In case of Rett’s syndrome, a specific dysfunction of osteoblasts causes bone fragility. We observed the effects of annual zoledronic acid (ZA) infusion in a cohort of children with cerebral palsy and Rett’s syndrome. 27 children under 18 years (19 with cerebral palsy and 8 girls with Rett syndrome confirmed by MCEP2 mutation) were treated with an annual injection of 0.1 mg/kg (max 4 mg) of ZA. Calcium and vitamin D were combined in all patients from the first injection of ZA. Dental examination was performed before treatment. Data were analyzed retrospectively. Bone mineral density was measured at diagnosis and yearly thereafter. Bone mass density (BMD) is decreased in patient with cerebral palsy and RS. One year after injection of ZA, we observe an increase of Lumbar spine BMD from – 2.99 to – 2.14 SD (p < 0.0001) and femoral BMD from - 4.26 to - 3.32 SD (p < 0.001) In the subgroup of patient with Rett syndrome, we also observe an increase from - 3.27 to 2.50 SD (p = 0.018) of Lumbar spine BMD. No fractures have been observed in our cohort since the first infusion. Side effects (flu-like syndrome and hypocalcemia) were more common in younger patients and after the first infusion. No serious complications were noticed. This study confirms the efficacy and the safety of an annual injection of ZA to improve bone status in children with cerebral palsy and Rett syndrome. No severe adverse effects were observed. Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
18. Ziermans T, de Bruijn Y, Dijkhuis R, Staal W, Swaab H. {{Impairments in cognitive empathy and alexithymia occur independently of executive functioning in college students with autism}}. {Autism};2018 (Dec 14):1362361318817716.
Reduced empathy and alexithymic traits are common across the autism spectrum, but it is unknown whether this is also true for intellectually advanced adults with autism spectrum disorder. The aim of this study was to examine whether college students with autism spectrum disorder experience difficulties with empathy and alexithymia, and whether this is associated with their cognitive levels of executive functioning. In total, 53 college students with autism spectrum disorder were compared to a gender-matched group of 29 neurotypical students on cognitive and affective dimensions of empathy and alexithymia. In addition, cognitive performance on executive functioning was measured with computerized and paper-and-pencil tasks. The autism spectrum disorder group scored significantly lower on cognitive empathy and higher on cognitive alexithymia (both d = 0.65). The difference on cognitive empathy also remained significant after controlling for levels of cognitive alexithymia. There were no group differences on affective empathy and alexithymia. No significant relations between executive functioning and cognitive alexithymia or cognitive empathy were detected. Together, these findings suggest that intellectually advanced individuals with autism spectrum disorder experience serious impairments in the cognitive processing of social-emotional information. However, these impairments cannot be attributed to individual levels of cognitive executive functioning.
