Sensory Issues and Their Impact Among Autistic Children: A Cross-Sectional Study in Northern Sri Lanka.

Background: Sensory processing issues are among the key diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As altered sensory processing causes autistic children to react differently to sensory experiences and has a profound impact on their development, affecting their learning ability, social interaction, and ability to adapt to a new environment, there is a need to recognize and address these issues in children diagnosed with ASD during assessments and interventions. This study aimed to identify the patterns of sensory issues and their impact, and selected correlates among autistic children attending a center for neurodevelopmental disorders in northern Sri Lanka.

Adolescent treadmill exercise enhances hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and improves cognition in autism-modeled rats.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by repetitive behaviors and altered communication abilities. Exercise is a low-cost intervention that could improve cognitive function and improve brain plasticity mechanisms. Here, the valproic acid (VPA) model was utilized to induce ASD-like phenotypes in rodents.

Aerobic exercise improves cognitive flexibility and modulates regional volume changes in a rat model of autism.

Gestational exposure to valproic acid (VPA) is a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Rodents exposed to VPA in utero display common features of ASD, including volumetric dysregulation in higher-order cognitive regions like the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and the hippocampus. Exercise has been shown in elderly populations to boost cognition and to buffer against brain volume losses with age.

Establishing a novel partnership model to deploy health services for children with autism in a low-resource setting - experience from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is representative of challenges faced by low-income and middle-income countries, including the rise in the prevalence of autism and the lack of sufficient autism-specific services in the state sectors. The experience in establishing a Center to provide services for children with autism in Northern Sri Lanka is described. Funding and resourcing were accessed through an innovative partnership-based public/non-governmental organisation/charity model, where service-based outcomes were the main objectives.

The Characteristics of Autistic Children Attending a Neuro-Developmental Center in Northern Sri Lanka.

Introduction: The global prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is rising. However, the services related to autism are only slowly being developed in poor-resource nations. There is a need to understand the characteristics of autistic children in order to develop individualized, evidence-based interventions.

Depression, Disability, and Cognitive Impairment Among Elders With Medical Illnesses Attending Follow-Up Clinics at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Northern Sri Lanka.

Introduction: The rising proportion of the elderly is increasingly affected by non-communicable diseases. Despite an abundance of literature suggesting that elders with medical conditions are more vulnerable to depression, disability, and cognitive impairment, these tend to go unnoticed and unaddressed. This study describes the prevalence and correlates of depression, disability, and cognitive impairment among elders with medical illnesses attending follow-up clinics in a tertiary care hospital in northern Sri Lanka.