Search results for "Autism"
showing 10 items of 457 documents
A Preliminary Study on Cranio-Facial Characteristics Associated with Minor Neurological Dysfunctions (MNDs) in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder…
2020
Background. Craniofacial anomalies and minor neurological dysfunction (MNDs) have been identified, in literature, as risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders. They represent physical indicators of embryonic development suggesting a possible contributory role of complications during early, even pre-conceptional, phases of ontogeny in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Limited research has been conducted about the co-occurrence of the two biomarkers in children with ASD. This study investigates the associative patterns of cranio-facial anomalies and MNDs in ASD children, and whether these neurodevelopmental markers correlate with intensity of ASD symptoms and overall functioning. Methods. …
Autism and Migraine: An Unexplored Association?
2020
Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by neurological, psychiatric and medical comorbidities—some conditions co-occur so frequently that comorbidity in autism is the rule rather than the exception. The most common autism co-occurring conditions are intellectual disability, language disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, gastrointestinal problems, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychotic disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, and eating disorders. They are well known and studied. Migraine is the most common brain disease in the world, but surprisingly only a few studies investigate the comorbidity between autism and migrain…
Prenatal testosterone of progenitors could be involved in the etiology of both anorexia nervosa and autism spectrum disorders of their offspring
2014
Objectives High intrauterine testosterone (T) levels seem to play a role in the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but their role in anorexia nervosa (AN) is controversial. Parents with masculinized 2D:4D ratios, a marker of the organizational effects of T, may have other relevant biological characteristics, in particular exposing their offspring to high T levels in the prenatal environment. This would increase the likelihood of their offspring developing these disorders. Methods The present study examined whether parents of offspring with AN (n=34; mean age= 51) and ASD (n=36; mean age=45) differ from control parents (n=40; mean age=43) in 2D:4D ratio, as well as by salivary …
Emotional intelligence modulates cortisol awakening response and self-reported health in caregivers of people with autism spectrum disorders
2014
Abstract Caring for people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has negative consequences for caregivers’ health. Specifically, caregivers of people with ASDs have been observed to have more somatic symptoms, poorer self-perceived general health, poorer social functioning and altered immune and endocrine systems. Various positive variables including emotional intelligence (EI) have been found to protect health in several populations, but no studies have previously analyzed the effect of EI in caregivers of people with ASDs. The present study aimed to analyze the association of the three components of EI (attention, clarity and repair) with self-reported health and cortisol awakening respon…
A Mindfulness-Based Program Improves Health in Caregivers of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Pilot Study
2014
Mindfulness-based interventions have demonstrated to be effective in reducing stress and health complaints in clinical populations. However, to our knowledge, biological health markers have not been used in studies of the effectiveness of mindfulness programs in caregivers of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). This study aimed to assess the effects of a mindfulness intervention on mood disturbances and health complaints in this population compared with non-caregivers. The design of the study was quasi-experimental, with repeated measures. Self-reported health, cortisol awakening response (CAR), and afternoon cortisol levels before and after a mindfulness session were assessed at …
Electrodermal activity in response to a set of mental tasks in caregivers of persons with autism spectrum disorders
2011
IntroductionAnalysing reactivity to laboratory stressor in lab is a valid model for understanding how people act in real-life situations. Electrodermal activity is a good index of emotionality, which has not been analysed in caregivers of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).Objectives and aimsThis work aims to compare the response of electrodermal activity to mental stress between caregivers of ASDs people and controls, as the former could show a different response due to their particular situation characterised by a state of continuous alert.MethodsParents of both genders of people with (n = 44) or without (n = 42) ASDs carried out a set of different mental tasks. Skin Conductanc…
Prevalencia de los trastornos del espectro autista: revisión de datos
2016
Published data on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders point to a significant increase in this indicator. This increase is being studied in numerous publications of analysis, meta-analysis and systematic reviews. The prevalence indicates the proportion of people who suffer at a given time or are diagnosed with a disease. The consequences of the increasing prevalence are relevant from the point of health, social and educational, but especially relevant when as is the case, the cause of the disorder is unknown. It is in this sense that the prevalence study gains importance in order to delimit various circumstances that may give clues to the possible cause or causes that generate disord…
Intellectual disabilitiy in developmental age
2015
Intellectual disability (ID) is a neurodevelopmental dis- order characterized by deficits in intellectual and adap- tive functioning that present before 18 years of age [1]. ID is heterogeneous in etiology and encompasses a broad spectrum of functioning, disability, needs and strengths. Originally formulated in strictly psychometric terms as performance greater than 2.5 SDs below the mean on intelligence testing, the conceptualisation of ID has been extended to include defects in adaptive beha- viours [2]. The term-global developmental delay-(GDD) is usually used to describe children younger than 5-years of age who fail to meet expected developmental milestones in multiple areas of intellec…
Anthropometric measurements and nutritional assessment in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review
2015
Abstract Adequate nutrient intake is essential for health. Due to food selectivity and restrictive diets, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have impaired nutritional status, which could affect their growth. We present a systematic review of publications (1970–2013) on anthropometric measurements and nutritional assessment in this population. The limited research published on growth and nutritional status has found contradictory results. Nutritional assessment has indicated limited food variety in the ASD population but has not confirmed significant differences with respect to recommended intakes or controls. In addition to the lack of control groups, studies in this area have s…
Endocrine Disruptors and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Pregnancy: A Review and Evaluation of the Quality of the Epidemiological Evidence
2018
Exposure to environmental contaminants during pregnancy has been linked to adverse health outcomes later in life. Notable among these pollutants are the endocrine disruptors chemicals (EDCs), which are ubiquitously present in the environment and they have been measured and quantified in the fetus. In this systematic review, our objective was to summarize the epidemiological research on the potential association between prenatal exposure to EDCs and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) published from 2005 to 2016. The Navigation Guide Systematic Review Methodology was applied. A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review, including: five cohorts and 12 case-control. According t…