1. Abdallah MW, Larsen N, Grove J, Bonefeld-Jorgensen EC, Norgaard-Pedersen B, Hougaard DM, Mortensen EL. {{Neonatal chemokine levels and risk of autism spectrum disorders: Findings from a Danish historic birth cohort follow-up study}}. {Cytokine}. 2012 Dec 22.
A potential role of chemokines in the pathophysiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) has been previously suggested. In a recent study we examined levels of three inflammatory chemokines (MCP-1, MIP-1alpha and RANTES) in samples of amniotic fluid of children diagnosed later in life with ASD and controls frequency-matched to cases on gender and year of birth. In this follow-up study, levels of the same chemokines were analyzed postnatally in dried blood spot samples from the same subjects utilizing the Danish Newborn Screening Biobank. Crude estimates showed decreased levels of RANTES. In the adjusted estimates, no differences were found in levels of the three examined chemokines in ASD cases compared to controls. Our findings may cautiously suggest an altered cell-mediated immunity during the early neonatal period in ASD. Further research is needed to examine the relationship between maternal/fetal and neonatal chemokine levels and their role in ASD.
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2. Gotham K, Bishop SL, Hus V, Huerta M, Lund S, Buja A, Krieger A, Lord C. {{Exploring the Relationship Between Anxiety and Insistence on Sameness in Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Autism Res}. 2012 Dec 19.
Elevated anxiety symptoms are one of the most common forms of psychopathology to co-occur with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The purpose of this study was to explore the association between anxiety and ASD symptoms, particularly the degree to which the relationship is explained by insistence on sameness (IS) behaviors and/or cognitive ability. The sample included 1429 individuals aged 5:8-18:0 years who participated in the Simons Simplex Collection, a genetic consortium study of ASD. Child Behavior Checklist Anxiety Problems T-scores and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised « IS » item raw totals were treated as both categorical and continuous measures of anxiety and IS, respectively. Chronological age, verbal intelligence quotient (IQ), and a variety of ASD phenotype-related and other behavioral variables were assessed for potential association with anxiety and IS. Anxiety and IS continuous variables were minimally, although significantly, associated with each other and with chronological age and verbal IQ. Neither anxiety nor IS was associated with other core autism diagnostic scores. Anxiety was associated with a variety of other psychiatric and behavioral symptoms in ASD, including irritability, attention problems, and aggression, while IS was not. Anxiety and IS appear to function as distinct constructs, each with a wide range of expression in children with ASD across age and IQ levels. Thus, both variables could be of use in ASD behavioral research or in dimensional approaches to genetic exploration. Unlike IS, however, anxiety is related to non-ASD-specific behavioral symptoms. Autism Res 2012, : -. (c) 2012 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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3. Parish SL, Thomas KC, Rose R, Kilany M, Shattuck PT. {{State medicaid spending and financial burden of families raising children with autism}}. {Intellectual and developmental disabilities}. 2012 Dec;50(6):441-51.
Abstract We examined the association between state Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and the financial burden reported by families of children with autism. Child and family data were from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (n = 2,011 insured children with autism). State characteristics were from public sources. The 4 outcomes included any out-of-pocket health care expenditures during the past year, expenditure amount, expenditures as a proportion of family income, and whether additional income was needed to care for a child. We modeled the association between state per capita Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and families’ financial burden, controlling for child, family, and state characteristics. Overall, 78% of families raising children with autism had health care expenditures for their child for the prior 12 months; 42% reported expenditures over $500, with 34% spending over 3% of their income. Families living in states with higher per capita Medicaid spending for children with disabilities were significantly less likely to report financial burden. There is a robust relationship between state Medicaid spending for children with disabilities and the financial burdens incurred by families raising children with autism.
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4. Polderman TJ, Hoekstra RA, Vinkhuyzen AA, Sullivan PF, van der Sluis S, Posthuma D. {{Attentional switching forms a genetic link between attention problems and autistic traits in adults}}. {Psychological medicine}. 2012 Dec 21:1-12.
BACKGROUND: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and autistic traits often occur together. The pattern and etiology of co-occurrence are largely unknown, particularly in adults. This study investigated the co-occurrence between both traits in detail, and subsequently examined the etiology of the co-occurrence, using two independent adult population samples. Method Data on ADHD traits (Inattention and Hyperactivity/Impulsivity) were collected in a population sample (S1, n = 559) of unrelated individuals. Data on Attention Problems (AP) were collected in a population-based family sample of twins and siblings (S2, n = 560). In both samples five dimensions of autistic traits were assessed (social skills, routine, attentional switching, imagination, patterns). RESULTS: Hyperactive traits (S1) did not correlate substantially with the autistic trait dimensions. For Inattention (S1) and AP (S2), the correlations with the autistic trait dimensions were low, apart from a prominent correlation with the attentional switching scale (0.47 and 0.32 respectively). Analyses in the genetically informative S2 revealed that this association could be explained by a shared genetic factor. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the co-occurrence of ADHD traits and autistic traits in adults is not determined by problems with hyperactivity, social skills, imagination or routine preferences. Instead, the association between those traits is due primarily to shared attention-related problems (inattention and attentional switching capacity). As the etiology of this association is purely genetic, biological pathways involving attentional control could be a promising focus of future studies aimed at unraveling the genetic causes of these disorders.
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5. Tager-Flusberg H. {{International society for autism research news}}. {Autism Res}. 2012 Dec;5(6):443.
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6. Ticha R, Lakin KC, Larson SA, Stancliffe RJ, Taub S, Engler J, Bershadsky J, Moseley C. {{Correlates of everyday choice and support-related choice for 8,892 randomly sampled adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in 19 States}}. {Intellectual and developmental disabilities}. 2012 Dec;50(6):486-504.
Abstract This article examines everyday choices made by 8,892 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and support-related choices made by 6,179 adults with IDD receiving services from 19 state developmental disabilities program agencies that participated in the 2008-2009 National Core Indicators Project. Controlling for physical and sensory impairment, age, behavioral support, communication, and state, people in residential settings with 16 or more people had less everyday choice than those in other living arrangements. People with mild and moderate IDD had more control over everyday choices when living in their own homes, whereas people with severe and profound IDD had more control when living in agency homes of 3 or fewer residents. For people of all levels of IDD, institutional settings of 16 or more residents offered the lowest levels of everyday choice. Controlling for the same covariates, individuals with all levels of IDD living in their own homes had significantly more support-related choices than those in any other residential arrangement. Controlling for individual and residential setting characteristics, the state in which sample members lived was notably predictive of support-related choice. Overall, the tested variables accounted for 44% of the variability in everyday choice and 31% in support-related choice.
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7. Vomstein K, Stieltjes B, Poustka L. {{[Structural connectivity and diffusion tensor imaging in autism spectrum disorders]}}. {Zeitschrift fur Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie}. 2013 Jan;41(1):59-68.
Over the past years, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has become an important brain-imaging technique in neuropsychiatric research. DTI allows noninvasive visualization of white matter tracts. In addition, with DTI it is possible to quantify the structural integrity of the investigated fiber tracts. In child and adolescent psychiatry, DTI has become an increasingly important research tool, especially for conditions like autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Yet, correct interpretation of DTI findings can be challenging, especially for clinicians. Thus, the present review article explains the basic principles of this frequently used imaging technique as well as essential indices, like fractional anisotropy, radial, mean, and axial diffusivity and its two main applications, fibertracking and whole brain analysis. The strengths and weaknesses as well as future perspectives are discussed in light of DTI studies in children and adolescents with ASD.
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8. Wijetunge LS, Chattarji S, Wyllie DJ, Kind PC. {{Fragile X syndrome: From targets to treatments}}. {Neuropharmacology}. 2012 Dec 17.
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is one of the most prevalent and well-studied monogenetic causes of intellectual disability and autism and, although rare, its high penetrance makes it a desirable model for the study of neurodevelopmental disorders. Indeed recent studies suggest that there is functional convergence of a number of genes that are implicated in intellectual disability and autism indicating that an understanding of the cellular and biochemical dysfunction that occurs in monogenic forms of these disorders are likely to reveal common targets for therapeutic intervention. Fundamental research into FXS has provided a wealth of information about how the loss of function of the fragile X mental retardation protein results in biochemical, anatomical and physiological dysfunction leading to the discovery of interventions that correct many of the core pathological phenotypes associated with animal models of FXS. Most promisingly such strategies have led to development of drugs that are now in clinical trials. This review highlights how progress in understanding disorders such as FXS has led to a new era in which targeted molecular treatment towards neurodevelopmental disorders is underway. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘Neurodevelopment Disorder’.
