1. Begeer S. {{Theory of mind interventions can be effective in treating autism, although long-term success remains unproven}}. {Evid Based Ment Health}. 2014.
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2. Day-Watkins J, Murray R, Connell JE. {{Teaching helping to adolescents with autism}}. {J Appl Behav Anal}. 2014.
This study is a replication and extension of Reeve, Reeve, Townsend, and Poulson () evaluating the effects of a treatment package that included multiple-exemplar training, video modeling, prompting, and reinforcement on helping of 3 adolescents with autism. Results demonstrated that all participants acquired the helping responses. Probes before and after intervention also demonstrated generalization of helping across settings and categories of helping behavior.
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3. Geier DA, Hooker BS, Kern JK, Sykes LK, Geier MR. {{An Evaluation of the Effect of Increasing Parental Age on the Phenotypic Severity of Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Child Neurol}. 2014.
It was recently postulated that because increased genetic load and increased parental age are both purportedly associated with the risk to develop an autism spectrum disorder, there must be a linkage between increasing genetic load and increasing parental age in autism spectrum disorder pathogenesis. The present study examined the hypothesis that if increased genetic load from increasing paternal age is important to autism spectrum disorder pathogenesis, then there should be a significant relationship between increasing parental age and increasing autism spectrum disorder phenotypic severity. Outpatient clinical records were retrospectively examined to identify a consecutive cohort of subjects diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (n = 351). Increasing autism spectrum disorder phenotypic severity was found not to be associated with increasing maternal/paternal age. The present study failed to support the hypothesis that increasing parental age was associated with increasing autism spectrum disorder phenotypic severity, but future studies should examine the relationship between genetic mutations in subjects diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and increasing parental age.
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4. McConachie H, Fletcher-Watson S. {{Building capacity for rigorous controlled trials in autism: the importance of measuring treatment adherence}}. {Child Care Health Dev}. 2014.
Research groups across Europe have been networking to share information and ideas about research on preschool children with autism. The paper describes preliminary work to develop capacity for future multi-site randomized controlled trials of early intervention, with a specific focus on the need to measure treatment adherence where parents deliver therapy. The paper includes a review of randomized and controlled studies of parent-mediated early intervention from two sources, a recent Cochrane Collaboration review and a mapping of European early intervention studies in autism published since 2002. The data extracted focused on methods for describing parent adherence, that is, how and to what extent parents carry out the strategies taught them by therapists. Less than half of the 32 studies reviewed included any measure of parent adherence. Only seven included a direct assessment method. The challenges of developing pan-European early intervention evaluation studies are discussed, including choice of intervention model and of important outcomes, the need for translation of measurement tools and achievement of joint training to reliability of assessors. Measurement of parent-child interaction style and of adherence to strategies taught need further study.
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5. Nankova BB, Agarwal R, MacFabe DF, La Gamma EF. {{Enteric Bacterial Metabolites Propionic and Butyric Acid Modulate Gene Expression, Including CREB-Dependent Catecholaminergic Neurotransmission, in PC12 Cells – Possible Relevance to Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {PLoS One}. 2014; 9(8): e103740.
Alterations in gut microbiome composition have an emerging role in health and disease including brain function and behavior. Short chain fatty acids (SCFA) like propionic (PPA), and butyric acid (BA), which are present in diet and are fermentation products of many gastrointestinal bacteria, are showing increasing importance in host health, but also may be environmental contributors in neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Further to this we have shown SCFA administration to rodents over a variety of routes (intracerebroventricular, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal) or developmental time periods can elicit behavioral, electrophysiological, neuropathological and biochemical effects consistent with findings in ASD patients. SCFA are capable of altering host gene expression, partly due to their histone deacetylase inhibitor activity. We have previously shown BA can regulate tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mRNA levels in a PC12 cell model. Since monoamine concentration is known to be elevated in the brain and blood of ASD patients and in many ASD animal models, we hypothesized that SCFA may directly influence brain monoaminergic pathways. When PC12 cells were transiently transfected with plasmids having a luciferase reporter gene under the control of the TH promoter, PPA was found to induce reporter gene activity over a wide concentration range. CREB transcription factor(s) was necessary for the transcriptional activation of TH gene by PPA. At lower concentrations PPA also caused accumulation of TH mRNA and protein, indicative of increased cell capacity to produce catecholamines. PPA and BA induced broad alterations in gene expression including neurotransmitter systems, neuronal cell adhesion molecules, inflammation, oxidative stress, lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function, all of which have been implicated in ASD. In conclusion, our data are consistent with a molecular mechanism through which gut related environmental signals such as increased levels of SCFA’s can epigenetically modulate cell function further supporting their role as environmental contributors to ASD.
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6. Oberman LM, Pascual-Leone A, Rotenberg A. {{Modulation of corticospinal excitability by transcranial magnetic stimulation in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Front Hum Neurosci}. 2014; 8: 627.
The developmental pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is currently not fully understood. However, multiple lines of evidence suggest that the behavioral phenotype may result from dysfunctional inhibitory control over excitatory synaptic plasticity. Consistent with this claim, previous studies indicate that adults with Asperger’s Syndrome show an abnormally extended modulation of corticospinal excitability following a train of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). As ASD is a developmental disorder, the current study aimed to explore the effect of development on the duration of modulation of corticospinal excitability in children and adolescents with ASD. Additionally, as the application of rTMS to the understanding and treatment of pediatric neurological and psychiatric disorders is an emerging field, this study further sought to provide evidence for the safety and tolerability of rTMS in children and adolescents with ASD. Corticospinal excitability was measured by applying single pulses of TMS to the primary motor cortex both before and following a 40 s train of continuous theta burst stimulation. 19 high-functioning males ages 9-18 with ASD participated in this study. Results from this study reveal a positive linear relationship between age and duration of modulation of rTMS after-effects. Specifically we found that the older participants had a longer lasting response. Furthermore, though the specific protocol employed typically suppresses corticospinal excitability in adults, more than one third of our sample had a paradoxical facilitatory response to the stimulation. Results support the safety and tolerability of rTMS in pediatric clinical populations. Data also support published theories implicating aberrant plasticity and GABAergic dysfunction in this population.
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7. O’Dowd A. {{Antidepressants in pregnancy are linked to ADHD but not to autism, says study}}. {BMJ}. 2014; 349: g5315.
8. Whittingham K, Sofronoff K, Sheffield J, Sanders MR. {{Erratum to: Stepping Stones Triple P: An RCT of a Parenting Program with Parents of a Child Diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Abnorm Child Psychol}. 2014.
