1. Åker TH, Johnson MS. {{Interviewing alleged victims with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities and autism: A field study of police-investigated cases of physical and sexual abuse in a Norwegian national sample}}. {J Intellect Disabil Res};2020 (Aug 24)
BACKGROUND: People with intellectual disabilities (IDs) or autism are at great risk of being victims of physical and sexual abuse. This study uses transcriptions of real-life investigative interviews to examine the interview techniques (e.g. question type) used in investigative interviews of these groups of alleged victims. METHODS: A national sample of transcribed investigative interviews (N = 96) of alleged victims with mild ID (n = 48, age 5-70 years old), moderate ID (n = 18, age 14-43 years old) and autism (n = 16, age 5-50 years old) was analysed. RESULTS: The study shows a preponderance of alleged sexual offences (70.7%) and reveals that open-ended questions account for only 2.6% of the total number of questions asked. The interviewers relied heavily on yes/no (53.4%) and directive questions (32.2%). Suggestive questions (8.6%) were frequently used. CONCLUSIONS: The use of question type varied considerably within and across the diagnostic group. The study reveals the need for a more in-depth analysis of variables that influence investigative interviews of people with cognitive impairments.
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2. Berenguer C, Baixauli I, Gómez S, Andrés MEP, De Stasio S. {{Exploring the Impact of Augmented Reality in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review}}. {Int J Environ Res Public Health};2020 (Aug 24);17(17)
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent difficulties in communication and social interaction along with a restriction in interests and the presence of repetitive behaviors. The development and use of augmented reality technology for autism has increased in recent years. However, little is known about the impact of these virtual reality technologies on clinical health symptoms. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the impact of augmented reality through social, cognitive, and behavioral domains in children and adolescents with autism. This study is the first contribution that has carried out an evidence-based systematic review including relevant science databases about the effectiveness of augmented reality-based intervention in ASD. The initial search identified a total of 387 records. After the exclusion of papers that are not research studies and are duplicated articles and after screening the abstract and full text, 20 articles were selected for analysis. The studies examined suggest promising findings about the effectiveness of augmented reality-based treatments for the promotion, support, and protection of health and wellbeing in children and adolescents with autism. Finally, possible directions for future work are discussed.
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3. Broder-Fingert S, Mateo C, Zuckerman KE. {{Structural Racism and Autism}}. {Pediatrics};2020 (Aug 24)
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4. Constantino JN, Abbacchi AM, Saulnier C, Klaiman C, Mandell DS, Zhang Y, Hawks Z, Bates J, Klin A, Shattuck P, Molholm S, Fitzgerald R, Roux A, Lowe JK, Geschwind DH. {{Timing of the Diagnosis of Autism in African American Children}}. {Pediatrics};2020 (Aug 24)
OBJECTIVES: African American (AA) children affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience delays in diagnosis and obstacles to service access, as well as a disproportionate burden of intellectual disability (ID) as documented in surveillance data recently published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our objective in this study was to analyze data from the largest-available repository of diagnostic and phenotypic information on AA children with ASD, and to explore the wide variation in outcome within the cohort as a function of sociodemographic risk and specific obstacles to service access for the purpose of informing a national approach to resolution of these disparities. METHODS: Parents of 584 AA children with autism consecutively enrolled in the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange across 4 US data collection sites completed event history calendar interviews of the diagnostic odysseys for their children with ASD. These data were examined in relation to developmental outcomes of the children with autism and their unaffected siblings. RESULTS: The average age of ASD diagnosis was 64.9 months (±49.6), on average 42.3 months (±45.1) after parents’ first concerns about their children’s development. The relationship between timing of diagnosis and ASD severity was complex, and ID comorbidity was not predicted in a straightforward manner by familial factors associated with cognitive variation in the general population. CONCLUSIONS: These findings document significant opportunity to expedite diagnosis, the need to further understand causes of ID comorbidity, and the necessity to identify effective approaches to the resolution of disparities in severity-of-outcome for AA children with autism.
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5. Hanai F, Narama M, Tamakoshi K. {{The Self of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Qualitative Study}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Aug 24)
Self-development is a central developmental issue in adolescence, there are few studies describing the experiences related to the self in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We conducted semi-structural interviews with 14 adolescents with ASD and three with ADHD to describe the self. As a result of inductive continuous comparison analysis, three concepts « Interest in self and self-realization », « Intentionality and self-transformation », « Unrealized/unnoticed self » were generated. It was suggested that the characteristic perceptions may tend to have difficulty realizing subjective selves.Otherwise, most adolescents realized various sense of self through interaction with others. Nurses should know adolescents’ inner world and share their emotions related to their self-recognition in order to provide care that meets important youth developmental needs.
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6. Jokel A, Armstrong E, Gabis L, Segal O. {{Associations and Dissociations among Phonological Processing Skills, Language Skills and Nonverbal Cognition in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Folia Phoniatr Logop};2020 (Aug 21):1-11.
AIMS: The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of phonological processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as it pertains to their nonverbal cognitive and linguistic abilities. METHODS: Twenty-one participants between the ages of 9 and 21 years were administered a nonverbal cognitive assessment (Raven test), a language measure that requires receptive and expressive knowledge of semantics, syntax and morphology, as well as the integration across these language domains (CELF-4), and a measure of phonological processing (CTOPP). RESULTS: Results show that performance on nonword repetition (NWR) that reflects an aspect of phonological memory was significantly low, whereas performance on phoneme reversal, phoneme elision, blending words and memory for digits was within the normal range. Hierarchical regressions with age, nonverbal intelligence (Raven test) and receptive language (CELF) as predictors showed that for NWR and phoneme elision the receptive part of the CELF was the main significant -predictor, after controlling for age. For phoneme reversal and memory for digits, however, the Raven score was the significant predictor, suggesting that cognitive nonverbal ability is the main factor explaining variability in these tasks. CONCLUSIONS: A deficit in phonological memory characterizes individuals in the autistic population. This deficit may influence language acquisition in this population consistent with other populations of children with language impairments. Other tasks of phonological awareness, however, might be preserved especially when they do not involve memory for long phonological sequences and when the cognitive abilities are within the norm.
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7. Jordan AL, Marczak M, Knibbs J. {{‘I Felt Like I was Floating in Space’: Autistic Adults’ Experiences of Low Mood and Depression}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2020 (Aug 24)
It is recognised that a high proportion of adults on the autism spectrum experience depressive symptoms. However, limited research has explored autistic peoples’ experiences of low mood and depression. The aim of this study was to explore the lived experiences of low mood and depression for adults on the autism spectrum. The study employed Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to investigate the experiences of 8 adults (7 males and 1 female), aged between 19 and 51, who had a diagnosis of autism without co-occurring learning disabilities, and experienced low mood or depression. All participants recorded their thoughts and feelings in a mood diary for 1 week and participated in a semi-structured interview. Three superordinate themes emerged from the data: ‘Autism has made me the person I am’, ‘I can’t function in the world’ and ‘It’s like trying to do accounts on the futures market’: Making sense of emotions. Findings highlight a need for specialist mental health provision for adults who are on the autism spectrum. Limitations of this study and implications for future research are discussed.
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8. Mikrani R, Li C, Naveed M, Li C, Baig M, Zhang Q, Wang Y, Peng J, Zhao L, Zhou X. {{Pharmacokinetic Advantage of ASD Device Promote Drug Absorption through the Epicardium}}. {Pharm Res};2020 (Aug 24);37(9):173.
PURPOSE: Due to low therapeutic efficacy and severe adverse reaction of systemic administration for coronary heart disease (CHD) therapy, we designed a novel local target delivery system, called Active hydraulic ventricular Support Drug delivery system (ASD). This study aims to investigate the potential advantages of ASD compared to intrapericardial (IPC) injection and factors affecting drug absorption through epicardium. METHODS: Liposoluble, water soluble and viscous solutions of cyanine 5 (Cy5) fluorescent dye were delivered individually through ASD and IPC in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and then tissues were isolated and observed by in vivo imaging system. Atria and ventricles of the heart were taken for the paraffin section and observed under a fluorescence microscope. RESULTS: The fluorescence intensity of Cy5 injected by ASD distributed in the heart was significantly higher than IPC injection. Whereas, the fluorescence signal spread in other tissues such as lung, liver, spleen, and kidney of ASD groups was much weaker. Moreover, when choosing liposoluble and viscous Cy5, the intensity of the heart turned stronger and fluorescence dye distributed in other tissues was lesser. CONCLUSIONS: The application of ASD device may provide a promising route of drug delivery for CHD. Furthermore, increasing viscosity of the solution and liposolublity of the drug was beneficial to facilitate drug absorption through the epicardium.
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9. Nuzzo T, Sekine M, Punzo D, Miroballo M, Katane M, Saitoh Y, Galbusera A, Pasqualetti M, Errico F, Gozzi A, Mothet JP, Homma H, Usiello A. {{Dysfunctional d-aspartate metabolism in BTBR mouse model of idiopathic autism}}. {Biochim Biophys Acta Proteins Proteom};2020 (Aug 24):140531.
BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) comprise a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impairment in social interaction, deviance in communication, and repetitive behaviors. Dysfunctional ionotropic NMDA and AMPA receptors, and metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 activity at excitatory synapses has been recently linked to multiple forms of ASD. Despite emerging evidence showing that d-aspartate and d-serine are important neuromodulators of glutamatergic transmission, no systematic investigation on the occurrence of these D-amino acids in preclinical ASD models has been carried out. METHODS: Through HPLC and qPCR analyses we investigated d-aspartate and d-serine metabolism in the brain and serum of four ASD mouse models. These include BTBR mice, an idiopathic model of ASD, and Cntnap2(-/-), Shank3(-/-), and 16p11.2(+/-) mice, three established genetic mouse lines recapitulating high confidence ASD-associated mutations. RESULTS: Biochemical and gene expression mapping in Cntnap2(-/-), Shank3(-/-), and 16p11.2(+/-) failed to find gross cerebral and serum alterations in d-aspartate and d-serine metabolism. Conversely, we found a striking and stereoselective increased d-aspartate content in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and serum of inbred BTBR mice. Consistent with biochemical assessments, in the same brain areas we also found a robust reduction in mRNA levels of d-aspartate oxidase, encoding the enzyme responsible for d-aspartate catabolism, and an increased mRNA expression of serine racemase, which is partially involved in cerebral d-aspartate biosynthesis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated the presence of disrupted d-aspartate metabolism in a widely used animal model of idiopathic ASD. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, this work calls for a deeper investigation of D-amino acids in the etiopathology of ASD and related developmental disorders.
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10. Rogers SJ, Yoder P, Estes A, Warren Z, McEachin J, Munson J, Rocha M, Greenson J, Wallace L, Gardner E, Dawson G, Sugar CA, Hellemann G, Whelan F. {{A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effects of Intervention Intensity and Intervention Style on Outcomes for Young Children With Autism}}. {J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry};2020 (Aug 24)
OBJECTIVE: This randomized, multisite, intent-to-treat study tested the effects of two levels of treatment intensity (number of hours) and two treatment styles on progress of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We predicted that initial severity of developmental delay or autism symptoms would moderate the effects of intensity and style on progress in four domains: autism symptom severity, expressive communication, receptive language, and nonverbal ability. METHOD: Eighty-seven children with ASD, mean age 23.4 months, were assigned to one of two intervention styles (naturalistic developmental-behavioral or discrete trial teaching), each delivered for either 15 or 25 hours per week of 1:1 intervention for 12 months by trained research staff. All caregivers received coaching twice monthly. Children were assessed at four timepoints. Examiners and coders were naive to treatment assignment. RESULTS: Neither style nor intensity had main effects on the four outcome variables. In terms of moderating effects of initial severity of developmental delay and of autism symptom severity, neither moderated the effects of treatment style on progress in any of the four domains. In terms of treatment intensity, initial severity moderated effect of treatment intensity on only one domain – change in autism symptom severity, and in a secondary analysis, this effect was found in only one site. CONCLUSION: Neither treatment style or intensity had overall effects on child outcomes in the four domains examined. Initial severity did not predict better response to one intervention style than another. We found very limited evidence that initial severity predicted better response to 25 versus 15 hours per week of intervention in the domains studied.
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11. Saitow F, Takumi T, Suzuki H. {{Upregulated 5-HT(1A) receptor-mediated currents in the prefrontal cortex layer 5 neurons in the 15q11-13 duplication mouse model of autism}}. {Mol Brain};2020 (Aug 24);13(1):115.
Serotonin (5-HT) is a well-known modulator of behavioral, physiological, and emotional functions of the forebrain region. We recently discovered alterations of serotonergic synaptic modulations in both, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the somatosensory cortex, in the 15q dup mouse model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To further understand the roles of the 5-HT system implicated in developmental disorders such as ASD, comparison with model animals exhibiting different phenotypes may be useful. In this study, we investigated the relationship between sociability and the magnitude of 5-HT(1A) receptor (5-HT(1A)R) activation-induced outward currents from layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the PFC, because a mouse model of Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS; another developmental disorder exhibiting low innate anxiety and high sociability) reportedly showed larger 5-HT-induced currents. To investigate whether the 5-HT(1A)R activation-induced outward currents are involved in the endophenotype determination of social behavior, we examined 15q dup mice with a phenotype opposite to WBS. We found 5-HT elicited significantly larger outward currents in 15q dup mice than in WT controls, regardless of sociability. In contrast, baclofen-induced GABA(B) receptor-mediated outward currents were not significantly different between genotypes, although GABA(B) receptor was coupled to G(i/o) as well as 5-HT(1A). Further, we found the larger 5-HT(1A)R-mediated currents in 15q dup mice did not affect the magnitude of inhibitory action of NMDA receptor functions. Taken together, our results provide a potential physiological hallmark for developmental disorders that may involve the imbalance of the neuronal circuity in the PFC.
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12. Smith GS, Fleming M, Kinnear D, Henderson A, Pell JP, Melville C, Cooper SA. {{Mortality in 787,666 school pupils with and without autism: A cohort study}}. {Autism};2020 (Aug 24):1362361320944037.
There are few studies on the deaths of children and young people with autism; some studies on children and adults combined suggest that those with autism may have higher death rates than other people. More children are diagnosed with autism than in the past, suggesting that there are now more children with milder autism who have the diagnosis than in the past, so studies in the past might not apply to the current generation of children and young people diagnosed with autism. We examined the rates of death in children and young people in Scotland using recorded information in Scotland’s annual pupil census, linked to the National Records of Scotland deaths register, between 2008 and 2015. In total, 9754 (1.2%) out of 787,666 pupils had autism. Six pupils with autism died in the study period, compared with 458 other pupils. This was equivalent to 16 per 100,000 for pupils with autism and 13 per 100,000 pupils without autism; hence, the rate of death was very similar. In the pupils with autism, the most common causes of death were diseases of the nervous system, whereas they were from external causes in the comparison pupils. The autism group had some deaths due to epilepsy which might have been prevented by good quality care. We cautiously conclude that the death rate in the current generation of children and young adults with autism is no higher than for other children, but that even in this high-income country, some deaths could be prevented by high quality care.
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13. von Ehrenstein OS, Cui X, Yan Q, Aralis H, Ritz B. {{Maternal Prenatal Smoking and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Offspring: a California Statewide Cohort and Sibling Study}}. {Am J Epidemiol};2020 (Aug 24)
We examined associations between maternal smoking and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children in a statewide population-based cohort and sibling comparison design using California birth records (n=2,015,104) with information on maternal smoking, demographics and pregnancy (2007-2010). ASD cases (n=11,722) were identified through California Department of Developmental Services records with diagnoses based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-R. We estimated odds ratios (OR) for ASD with/without intellectual disability in the full cohort using logistic regression, and conditional logistic regression in a sibling comparison. In the full cohort, the adjusted OR for ASD and maternal smoking 3-months before/during pregnancy compared to non-smoking was 1.15 (95%CI: 1.04, 1.26), and was similar in cases with (OR=1.12, 95%CI: 0.84, 1.49) and without intellectual disability (OR=1.15, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.27); heavy prenatal smoking (20+ cigarettes/day in any trimester) was related to 58% risk increase (95%CI: 23%, 101%). In the sibling comparison, the OR for heavy smoking was similarly elevated but the CI was wide. Our findings are consistent with an increased risk for ASD in offspring of mothers who smoked 20+ cigarettes/day during pregnancy; associations with lighter smoking were weaker.
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14. Zou R, Xu F, Wang Y, Duan M, Guo M, Zhang Q, Zhao H, Zheng H. {{Changes in the Gut Microbiota of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Autism Res};2020 (Aug 24)
Alterations in the gut microbiota may influence gastrointestinal (GI) dysbiosis frequently reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we sequenced the bacterial 16S rRNA gene to evaluate changes in fecal microbiota between 48 children with ASD and 48 healthy children in China. At the phylum level, the number of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia decreased in children with ASD, while the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes was significantly higher in autistic children due to enrichment of Bacteroidetes. At the genus level, the amount of Bacteroides, Prevotella, Lachnospiracea_incertae_sedis, and Megamonas increased, while Clostridium XlVa, Eisenbergiella, Clostridium IV, Flavonifractor, Escherichia/Shigella, Haemophilus, Akkermansia, and Dialister decreased in children with ASD relative to the controls. Significant increase was observed in the number of species synthesizing branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), like Bacteroides vulgatus and Prevotella copri, while the numbers of Bacteroides fragilis and Akkermansia muciniphila decreased in children with ASD compared to the controls. Most importantly, the highest levels of pathogenic bacteria were different for each child with ASD in this cohort. We found that only one functional module, cellular antigens, was enriched in children with ASD, and other pathways like lysine degradation and tryptophan metabolism were significantly decreased in children with ASD. These findings provide further evidence of altered gut microbiota in Chinese ASD children and may contribute to the treatment of patients with ASD. LAY SUMMARY: This study characterized the gut bacteria composition of 48 children with ASD and 48 neurotypical children in China. The metabolic disruptions caused by altered gut microbiota may contribute significantly to the neurological pathophysiology of ASD, including significant increases in the number of species synthesizing BCAAs, and decreases in the number of probiotic species. These findings suggest that a gut microbiome-associated therapeutic intervention may provide a novel strategy for treating GI symptoms frequently seen in individuals with ASD.
