1. Aishworiya R, Kiing JS, Chan YH, Tung SS, Law E. {{Screen time exposure and sleep among children with developmental disabilities}}. {J Paediatr Child Health};2018 (Apr 19)
AIM: Children with developmental disabilities are at risk of excessive screen time and are more vulnerable to sleep problems. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of screen time use in children with developmental disabilities and its relationship with sleep duration. METHODS: Consecutive children aged 6-15 years diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth or Fifth Edition (DSM-IV or DSM-5) developmental disabilities were recruited for this study from December 2014 to April 2015. Of those recruited, 87.0% of families gave consent and provided questionnaire information on demographics and child’s screen time use and completed the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire. RESULTS: Parents of 102 children in a tertiary-care developmental clinic completed the study. The mean age of children was 10 years, 1 month (standard deviation (SD), 22.7 months). The mean daily total screen time exposure was 2 h, 52.7 min (172.7 min, SD 120.8 min), with a median of 150.0 min. The mean amount of sleep per weekday was 8 h, 23.3 min (SD 64.6 min). Linear regression showed that, for every additional 9.17 min of screen time per day, sleep was reduced by 1 min (beta = -0.11, P = 0.04). Older age (beta = -0.64, P = 0.02) and living with a single parent (beta = -69.29, P = 0.003) were also associated with less sleep. CONCLUSIONS: Among children with developmental disabilities, greater daily screen time is associated with lower sleep duration. Older children and those from single-parent families are at risk of lower sleep duration. Clinicians should routinely ask about screen time exposure and sleep habits in order to provide appropriate anticipatory guidance.
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2. Harris J. {{Leo Kanner and autism: a 75-year perspective}}. {Int Rev Psychiatry};2018 (Apr 18):1-15.
In 1943, Leo Kanner published the first systematic description of early infantile autism. He concluded that this was a neurodevelopmental disorder and that ‘these children have come into the world with an innate inability to form the usual, biologically provided contact with people’. Moreover, his astute descriptions of parental behavior in his first publications were prescient and underlie later recognition of the importance of genetics. Our understanding has grown over the ensuing years with revisions in diagnostic classification, recognition of the broader autism phenotype in families, appreciation of the importance of developmental models, advances in genetic methodology, better understanding of the relationship to intellectual deficits, recognition of syndromic autism in neurogenetic sydromes, advances in neuroimaging, and advances in animal models, both mutant mouse models and transgenic non human primate models. Kanner recognized diagnostic heterogeneity and opined that the children had not read those diagnostic manuals and did not easily fall into clear cut categories. Such heterogeneity continues to confound our diagnostic efforts. Always an advocate for children, when reviewing the DSM III criteria in 1980, Kanner emphasized that no matter how well developed our criteria each child must be treated as a unique person.
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3. Joshi G, Wozniak J, Fitzgerald M, Faraone S, Fried R, Galdo M, Furtak SL, Conroy K, Kilcullen JR, Belser A, Biederman J. {{High Risk for Severe Emotional Dysregulation in Psychiatrically Referred Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Controlled Study}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2018 (Apr 19)
To assess prevalence and severity of emotional dysregulation (ED) in psychiatrically referred youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD youth (N = 123) were compared to youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and controls. The majority of psychiatrically referred youth with ASD had positive Child Behavior Checklist-ED (CBCL-ED) profile that was significantly higher than in youth with ADHD (82 vs. 53%; p < 0.001). The severe emotional dysregulation (SED) profile was significantly greater in ASD youth than ADHD (44 vs. 15%; p < 0.001). In the presence of SED profile ASD youth suffered from greater severity of autism, associated psychopathology, and psychosocial dysfunction. Greater than expected prevalence of SED in psychiatrically referred youth with ASD that identifies distinct clinical correlates associated with severe morbidity and dysfunction. Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
4. Li-Tsang CWP, Li TMH, Ho CHY, Lau MSW, Leung HWH. {{The Relationship Between Sensorimotor and Handwriting Performance in Chinese Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2018 (Apr 19)
Impaired sensorimotor control, as a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), could be a driving factor to handwriting problems. This study examined the Chinese and English handwriting and sensorimotor skills of 15 ASD and 174 typically developing Chinese adolescents. Participants with ASD had lower writing speed and poor manual dexterity (MD) than the typically developing participants. MD was a significant mediator between ASD and handwriting speed. Ground time and airtime represent the length of time when the pen touches the paper and is held in air, respectively. Participants with ASD who had better performance in MD showed shorter ground time in Chinese handwriting and shorter airtime in English handwriting. Training for adolescents with ASD on their MD may improve their handwriting performance.
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5. Mandy W, Pellicano L, St Pourcain B, Skuse D, Heron J. {{The development of autistic social traits across childhood and adolescence in males and females}}. {J Child Psychol Psychiatry};2018 (Apr 19)
BACKGROUND: Autism is a dimensional condition, representing the extreme end of a continuum of social competence that extends throughout the general population. Currently, little is known about how autistic social traits (ASTs), measured across the full spectrum of severity, develop during childhood and adolescence, including whether there are developmental differences between boys and girls. Therefore, we sought to chart the trajectories of ASTs in the general population across childhood and adolescence, with a focus on gender differences. METHODS: Participants were 9,744 males (n = 4,784) and females (n = 4,960) from ALSPAC, a UK birth cohort study. ASTs were assessed when participants were aged 7, 10, 13 and 16 years, using the parent-report Social Communication Disorders Checklist. Data were modelled using latent growth curve analysis. RESULTS: Developmental trajectories of males and females were nonlinear, showing a decline from 7 to 10 years, followed by an increase between 10 and 16 years. At 7 years, males had higher levels of ASTs than females (mean raw score difference = 0.88, 95% CI [.72, 1.04]), and were more likely (odds ratio [OR] = 1.99; 95% CI, 1.82, 2.16) to score in the clinical range on the SCDC. By 16 years this gender difference had disappeared: males and females had, on average, similar levels of ASTs (mean difference = 0.00, 95% CI [-0.19, 0.19]) and were equally likely to score in the SCDC’s clinical range (OR = 0.91, 95% CI, 0.73, 1.10). This was the result of an increase in females’ ASTs between 10 and 16 years. CONCLUSIONS: There are gender-specific trajectories of autistic social impairment, with females more likely than males to experience an escalation of ASTs during early- and midadolescence. It remains to be discovered whether the observed female adolescent increase in ASTs represents the genuine late onset of social difficulties or earlier, subtle, pre-existing difficulties becoming more obvious.
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6. Maurin T, Lebrigand K, Castagnola S, Paquet A, Jarjat M, Popa A, Grossi M, Rage F, Bardoni B. {{HITS-CLIP in various brain areas reveals new targets and new modalities of RNA binding by fragile X mental retardation protein}}. {Nucleic Acids Res};2018 (Apr 14)
Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common form of inherited intellectual disability, is due to the functional deficiency of the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein involved in translational regulation of many messenger RNAs, playing key roles in synaptic morphology and plasticity. To date, no effective treatment for FXS is available. We searched for FMRP targets by HITS-CLIP during early development of multiple mouse brain regions (hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum) at a time of brain development when FMRP is most highly expressed and synaptogenesis reaches a peak. We identified the largest dataset of mRNA targets of FMRP available in brain and we defined their cellular origin. We confirmed the G-quadruplex containing structure as an enriched motif in FMRP RNA targets. In addition to four less represented motifs, our study points out that, in the brain, CTGKA is the prominent motif bound by FMRP, which recognizes it when not engaged in Watson-Crick pairing. All of these motifs negatively modulated the expression level of a reporter protein. While the repertoire of FMRP RNA targets in cerebellum is quite divergent, the ones of cortex and hippocampus are vastly overlapping. In these two brain regions, the Phosphodiesterase 2a (Pde2a) mRNA is a prominent target of FMRP, which modulates its translation and intracellular transport. This enzyme regulates the homeostasis of cAMP and cGMP and represents a novel and attractive therapeutic target to treat FXS.
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7. Morris R, Muskat B, Greenblatt A. {{Working with children with autism and their families: pediatric hospital social worker perceptions of family needs and the role of social work}}. {Soc Work Health Care};2018 (Apr 18):1-19.
Social workers with knowledge of autism can be valuable contributors to client- and family-centered healthcare services. This study utilized a qualitative design to explore pediatric hospital social workers’ experiences and perceptions when working with children and youth with autism and their families. Interviews with 14 social workers in a Canadian urban pediatric hospital highlighted perceptions of the needs of families of children with autism in the hospital and challenges and benefits related to the role of social work with these families. Results suggest that pediatric social workers may benefit from opportunities to develop autism-relevant knowledge and skills.
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8. Peretti S, Mariano M, Mazzocchetti C, Mazza M, Pino MC, Verrotti Di Pianella A, Valenti M. {{Diet: the keystone of autism spectrum disorder?}}. {Nutr Neurosci};2018 (Apr 19):1-15.
Children with autism are characterized by an impairment of social interaction and repetitive patterns of behaviour. Autism is a heterogeneous span of disorders with unknown aetiology. Research has grown significantly and has suggested that environmental risk factors acting during the prenatal period could influence the neurodevelopment of offspring. The literature suggests that the maternal diet during pregnancy has a fundamental role in the etiopathogenesis of autism. Indeed, a maternal diet that is high in some nutrients has been associated with an increase or reduction in the risk of develop Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The diet of ASD children is also a key factor for the worsening of ASD symptoms. Children with autism have food selectivity and limited diets due to smell, taste, or other characteristics of foods. This determines eating routines and food intake patterns, with consequent deficiency or excess of some aliments. Several studies have tried to show a possible relationship between nutritional status and autism. In this review we describe, emphasizing the limits and benefits, the main current empirical studies that have examined the role of maternal diet during gestation and diet of ASD children as modifiable risk factors at the base of development or worsening of symptoms of autism.
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9. Pua EPK, Malpas CB, Bowden SC, Seal ML. {{Different brain networks underlying intelligence in autism spectrum disorders}}. {Hum Brain Mapp};2018 (Apr 17)
There has been sustained clinical and cognitive neuroscience research interest in how network correlates of brain-behavior relationships might be altered in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders. As previous work has mostly focused on adults, the nature of whole-brain connectivity networks underlying intelligence in pediatric cohorts with abnormal neurodevelopment requires further investigation. We used network-based statistics (NBS) to examine the association between resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) connectivity and fluid intelligence ability in male children (n = 50) with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD; M = 10.45, SD = 1.58 years and in controls (M = 10.38, SD = 0.96 years) matched on fluid intelligence performance, age and sex. Repeat analyses were performed in independent sites for validation and replication. Despite being equivalent on fluid intelligence ability to strictly matched neurotypical controls, boys with ASD displayed a subnetwork of significantly increased associations between functional connectivity and fluid intelligence. Between-group differences remained significant at higher edge thresholding, and results were validated in independent-site replication analyses in an equivalent age and sex-matched cohort with ASD. Regions consistently implicated in atypical connectivity correlates of fluid intelligence in ASD were the angular gyrus, posterior middle temporal gyrus, occipital and temporo-occipital regions. Development of fluid intelligence neural correlates in young ASD males is aberrant, with an increased strength in intrinsic connectivity association during childhood. Alterations in whole-brain network correlates of fluid intelligence in ASD may be a compensatory mechanism that allows equal task performance to neurotypical peers.
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10. Wiktor DM, Carroll JD. {{ASD Closure in Structural Heart Disease}}. {Curr Cardiol Rep};2018 (Apr 17);20(6):37.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: While the safety and efficacy of percutaneous ASD closure has been established, new data have recently emerged regarding the negative impact of residual iatrogenic ASD (iASD) following left heart structural interventions. Additionally, new devices with potential advantages have recently been studied. We will review here the potential indications for closure of iASD along with new generation closure devices and potential late complications requiring long-term follow-up. RECENT FINDINGS: With the expansion of left-heart structural interventions and large-bore transseptal access, there has been growing experience gained with management of residual iASD. Some recently published reports have implicated residual iASD after these procedures as a potential source of diminished clinical outcomes and mortality. Additionally, recent trials investigating new generation closure devices as well as expanding knowledge regarding late complications of percutaneous ASD closure have been published. While percutaneous ASD closure is no longer a novel approach to managing septal defects, there are several contemporary issues related to residual iASD following large-bore transseptal access and new generation devices which serve as an impetus for this review. Ongoing attention to potential late complications and decreasing their incidence with ongoing study is clearly needed.
