1. Abramowicz JS. {{Ultrasound and autism: association, link, or coincidence?}}. {J Ultrasound Med};2012 (Aug);31(8):1261-1269.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) affect an estimated 1% of children in the United States. The etiology is probably multifactorial, including genetic components and exposure to infections, toxins, and other environmental factors, particularly unfavorable perinatal and neonatal conditions. There has been an increase in the frequency of diagnosis of ASDs over the last 20 years with a parallel increase in the use of obstetric diagnostic ultrasound, with prenatal ultrasound exposure mentioned as the possible main etiology for autism « epidemics. » Central nervous system alterations have been described in ASDs, and certain similar changes have been described in animals after exposure to ultrasound. However, analysis of in utero exposure in humans has failed to show harmful effects in neonates or children, particularly in school performance, attention disorders, and behavioral changes. There is no independently confirmed peer-reviewed published evidence that a cause-effect relationship exists between in utero exposure to clinical ultrasound and development of ASDs in childhood. Ultrasound is a form of energy with effects in the tissues it traverses, and its use should be restricted to medical indications, by trained professionals, for as short a period and as low an intensity as compatible with accurate diagnosis.
2. Charan SH. {{Childhood disintegrative disorder}}. {J Pediatr Neurosci};2012 (Jan);7(1):55-57.
We are presenting a case of a 10-year-old female child who presented with normal development till 5 years of age followed by deterioration in previously acquired language and social skills with stereotypic hand movements suggestive of childhood disintegrative disorder. This case is reported as this condition is very rare.
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3. Davidovitch M, Hemo B, Manning-Courtney P, Fombonne E. {{Prevalence and Incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in an Israeli Population}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2012 (Jul 27)
The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has been steadily rising. In most parts of the world, rates as high as 1 % are reported, including in the United States. In Israel, previously reported prevalence rates have been in the 0.2 % range, and were based on parental reporting of diagnosis. In this study, records from one of the largest Israeli Health Maintenance organizations were used to calculate both incidence and prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Israel. Israeli prevalence of ASD was calculated at 0.48 % for 1-12 years olds and 0.65 % for 8 year old children in 2010, higher than previous Israeli reports, but still lower than prevalence estimates for the US. Incidence calculations ranged from 0.65 to 0.84 per 1,000 children for children 1-12 year olds. Reasons for these differences are suggested and discussed.
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4. Eriksson MA, Westerlund J, Hedvall A, Amark P, Gillberg C, Fernell E. {{Medical conditions affect the outcome of early intervention in preschool children with autism spectrum disorders}}. {Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry};2012 (Jul 27)
The aim was to explore the frequency of genetic and other medical conditions, including epilepsy, in a population-based group of 208 preschool children with early diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and to relate outcome at a 2-year follow-up to the co-existing medical findings. They had all received early intervention. The Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (VABS-II) composite score served as the primary outcome measure. In the total group, 38/208 children (18 %) had a significant medical or genetic condition. Epilepsy was present in 6.3 % at the first assessment and in 8.6 % at follow-up and was associated with more severe intellectual impairment. A history of regression was reported in 22 %. Children with any medical/genetic condition, including epilepsy, as well as children with a history of regression had significantly lower VABS-II scores at the 2-year follow-up. Children with a medical/genetic condition, including epilepsy, had been diagnosed with ASD at an earlier age than those without such conditions, and early age at diagnosis also correlated negatively with adaptive functioning outcome. The results underscore the importance of considering medical/genetic aspects in all young children with ASD and the requirement to individualize and tailor interventions according to their specific needs.
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5. Han ZA, Jeon HR, Kim SW, Park JY, Chung HJ. {{Clinical characteristics of children with rett syndrome}}. {Ann Rehabil Med};2012 (Jun);36(3):334-339.
OBJECTIVE: To identify the clinical characteristics and investigate function related aspects of Korean children with Rett syndrome. METHOD: A total of 26 patients diagnosed as Rett syndrome were clinically observed until the age of five or over. We surveyed past history, developmental history, and presence of typical clinical features of Rett syndrome. Furthermore, we investigated differences in clinical characteristics according to functional status and changes in clinical features related to growth. RESULTS: There were no problems related to gestational, perinatal or neonatal history. Only 12 patients had an ultimate head circumference of less than 3 percentile. Developmental regression was definite in all patients. At final assessment, only 14 patients were able to walk. Twenty patients had an epileptic history requiring medication. Sixteen patients with scoliosis showed progression during serial follow-up. The percentage of patients who were able to walk before 16 months was higher in the high function group than the low function group. The age of regression was 5.4 and 4.0 years in the high and low function group respectively, but the difference was not statistically significant. Scoliosis was more severe and seizure onset age was younger in the low function group. CONCLUSION: We investigated 26 clinical characteristics in Korean children with Rett syndrome. Their clinical features change according to age, and we believe such knowledge could be utilized in rehabilitation to minimize their disabilities.
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6. Juneja M, Mukherjee SB, Sharma S, Jain R, Das B, Sabu P. {{Evaluation of a parent-based behavioral intervention program for children with autism in a low-resource setting}}. {J Pediatr Neurosci};2012 (Jan);7(1):16-18.
BACKGROUND: Intensive behavioral intervention programs are recommended for children with autism. However, in resource-constraint settings, such programs are largely inaccessible, and there is an urgent need for development of low-cost interventions. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of a parent-based behavioral intervention program in Indian autistic children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen children with autistic disorder undergoing the intervention for at least six months were enrolled. The mean development, social, expressive, and receptive language quotients, and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) scores were compared before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The average duration of therapy was 19.5+/-11.78 months. There was a significant improvement in the development quotient (P=0.015), social quotient (P=0.004), expressive language quotient (P=0.03), CARS (P=0.001), and ABC (P=0.014) scores. CONCLUSION: Parent-based behavioral intervention programs have a promising role in management of children with autism in resource-constraint settings.
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7. Ricketts J, Jones CR, Happe F, Charman T. {{Reading Comprehension in Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Oral Language and Social Functioning}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2012 (Jul 28)
Reading comprehension is an area of difficulty for many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). According to the Simple View of Reading, word recognition and oral language are both important determinants of reading comprehension ability. We provide a novel test of this model in 100 adolescents with ASD of varying intellectual ability. Further, we explore whether reading comprehension is additionally influenced by individual differences in social behaviour and social cognition in ASD. Adolescents with ASD aged 14-16 years completed assessments indexing word recognition, oral language, reading comprehension, social behaviour and social cognition. Regression analyses show that both word recognition and oral language explain unique variance in reading comprehension. Further, measures of social behaviour and social cognition predict reading comprehension after controlling for the variance explained by word recognition and oral language. This indicates that word recognition, oral language and social impairments may constrain reading comprehension in ASD.
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8. Venuti P, Caria A, Esposito G, De Pisapia N, Bornstein MH, de Falco S. {{Differential brain responses to cries of infants with autistic disorder and typical development: An fMRI study}}. {Res Dev Disabil};2012 (Jul 24);33(6):2255-2264.
This study used fMRI to measure brain activity during adult processing of cries of infants with autistic disorder (AD) compared to cries of typically developing (TD) infants. Using whole brain analysis, we found that cries of infants with AD compared to those of TD infants elicited enhanced activity in brain regions associated with verbal and prosodic processing, perhaps because altered acoustic patterns of AD cries render them especially difficult to interpret, and increased activity in brain regions associated with emotional processing, indicating that AD cries also elicit more negative feelings and may be perceived as more aversive and/or arousing. Perceived distress engendered by AD cries related to increased activation in brain regions associated with emotional processing. This study supports the hypothesis that cry is an early and meaningful anomaly displayed by children with AD. It could be that cries associated with AD alter parent-child interactions much earlier than the time that reliable AD diagnosis normally occurs.
