Blood biomarker discovery for autism spectrum disorder: A proteomic analysis.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Given the lack of specific pharmacological therapy for ASD and the clinical heterogeneity of the disorder, current biomarker research efforts are geared mainly toward identifying markers for determining ASD risk or for assisting with a diagnosis. A wide range of putative biological markers for ASD are currently being investigated.

Time to TAVI: streamlining the pathway to treatment.

Introduction: Severe aortic stenosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The existing treatment pathway for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) traditionally relies on tertiary Heart Valve Centre workup. However, this has been associated with delays to treatment, in breach of British Cardiovascular Intervention Society targets.

Simultaneous spontaneous arterial dissections in a 38-year-old woman presenting during the covid-19 pandemic: a case report.

Background: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an increasingly recognized and important cause of acute myocardial infarction, particularly in women under 50, often with minimal risk factors. Many patients have underlying arteriopathy, most commonly in the form of fibromuscular dysplasia.

Case Summary: A 38-year-old woman presented to the hospital with chest pain and elevated high-sensitivity Troponin.

Blood biomarker discovery for autism spectrum disorder: A proteomic analysis.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Given the lack of specific pharmacological therapy for ASD and the clinical heterogeneity of the disorder, current biomarker research efforts are geared mainly toward identifying markers for determining ASD risk or for assisting with a diagnosis. A wide range of putative biological markers for ASD is currently being investigated.

Impact of COVID-19 on inpatient referral of acute heart failure: a single-centre experience from the south-west of the UK.

Aims: Healthcare services worldwide have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent reports have shown a decline in hospitalization for emergency cardiac conditions. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospitalization and particularly mortality due to acute heart failure has not been thoroughly described.

Fertilization and Cleavage Axes Differ In Primates Conceived By Conventional (IVF) Versus Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).

With nearly ten million babies conceived globally, using assisted reproductive technologies, fundamental questions remain; e.g., How do the sperm and egg DNA unite? Does ICSI have consequences that IVF does not? Here, pronuclear and mitotic events in nonhuman primate zygotes leading to the establishment of polarity are investigated by multidimensional time-lapse video microscopy and immunocytochemistry.

Vancomycin induced DRESS syndrome (drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms) in a patient with tricuspid endocarditis.

A 57-year-old man presented for an elective pacemaker upgrade, complicated by the discovery of device infection. He had a background of complex congenital heart disease, including replacement of heart valves, and was treated for presumed infective endocarditis that was later confirmed by echocardiography. Antibiotic treatment, with intravenous vancomycin, was given as per the tissue sample sensitivities.

Microbial structure and function in infant and juvenile rhesus macaques are primarily affected by age, not vaccination status.

Although thimerosal, an ethylmercury-based preservative, has been removed from most pediatric vaccines in the United States, some multidose vaccines, such as influenza vaccines, still contain thimerosal. Considering that a growing number of studies indicate involvement of the gut microbiome in infant immune development and vaccine responses, it is important to elucidate the impact of pediatric vaccines, including thimerosal-containing vaccines, on gut microbial structure and function. Here, a non-human primate model was utilized to assess how two vaccine schedules affect the gut microbiome in infants (5-9 days old) and juveniles (77-88 weeks old) through 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing and metabolomics analyses of the fecal samples.

Brief Report: Implementation of a Specific Carbohydrate Diet for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Fragile X Syndrome.

This brief report examines the implementation of dietary intervention utilizing the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) for the management of gastrointestinal issues in a 4 year old boy diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). Data relating to anthropometrics, dietary intake, blood markers, gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, sleep issues, and behavioral concerns were gathered at baseline and after 4 months of dietary intervention. The dietary intervention was well tolerated.

ULTRASIM: Ultrasound in trauma simulation.

Objective: This study sought to assess the effectiveness of ultrasound simulation as a component of high-fidelity trauma simulation, in training diagnostic capabilities of resident and attending physicians participating in simulated trauma scenarios.

Methods: Twelve residents and 20 attending physicians participated in 114 trauma simulations. Participants generated a ranked differential diagnosis list after a physical exam and subsequently after a simulated extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (E-FAST) ultrasound scan.

The Relationship Between Social Affect and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors Measured on the ADOS-2 and Maternal Stress.

This study investigated categories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition and their association with maternal stress. Social affect and restricted and repetitive behaviors were compared with levels of maternal stress, measured by the Parenting Stress Index, in 102 children with ASD ages 2-12 years of age. Results indicated that social affect and restricted and repetitive behaviors were associated with the mother's stress regarding acceptability of the child's condition.

Bone Mineral Density in Boys Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case-Control Study.

This study compared bone mineral density (BMD) of the spine obtained by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), nutritional status, biochemical markers, and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in 4-8 year old boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with a group of age-matched, healthy boys without ASD. Boys with ASD had significantly lower spine BMD compared to controls but this was not correlated with any biochemical markers, dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D, elimination diet status, or GI symptomology. Reduced BMD in 4-8 year old boys with ASD appears to involve factors other than nutrient intake and GI status, and requires further study.

Serum thyroid-stimulating hormone and interleukin-8 levels in boys with autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects approximately 1 in 68 children in the USA. An ASD blood biomarker may enable early diagnosis and/or identification of new therapeutic targets. Serum samples from ASD and typically developing (TD) boys (n = 30/group) were screened for differences in 110 proteins using a multiplex immunoassay.

Growth status of children with autism spectrum disorder: a case-control study.

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder are at risk of a compromised dietary intake and nutritional status that could impact growth over both the short and long term. The limited body of published research addressing this concern has been contradictory and inconclusive to date.

Methods: This case-control study investigated the height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and other anthropometric measurements of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Targeted Nutritional and Behavioral Feeding Intervention for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

A variety of feeding issues and concerns, including food aversion, food selectivity, and complete food refusal, are not uncommon among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Other underlying issues are often comorbid with the concerns for feeding and ASD. These may include food allergies, gastrointestinal issues, oral motor issues, and swallowing disorders.

A Search for Blood Biomarkers for Autism: Peptoids.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior. In order to identify individuals with ASD and initiate interventions at the earliest possible age, biomarkers for the disorder are desirable. Research findings have identified widespread changes in the immune system in children with autism, at both systemic and cellular levels.

Out of hours intravenous fluid therapy: a prompt to guide prescribing.

Recent NICE guidance has highlighted the importance of appropriate and safe intravenous fluid use. We aimed to improve the quality of out of hours fluid prescription in a Bristol hospital by ensuring that indications and cautions for fluid therapy were clearly documented at the time of initiation. Time-pressured on-call doctors need quick access to information regarding patients' care.

Administration of thimerosal-containing vaccines to infant rhesus macaques does not result in autism-like behavior or neuropathology.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder. Some anecdotal reports suggest that ASD is related to exposure to ethyl mercury, in the form of the vaccine preservative, thimerosal, and/or receiving the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Using infant rhesus macaques receiving thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) following the recommended pediatric vaccine schedules from the 1990s and 2008, we examined behavior, and neuropathology in three brain regions found to exhibit neuropathology in postmortem ASD brains.

Examination of the safety of pediatric vaccine schedules in a non-human primate model: assessments of neurodevelopment, learning, and social behavior.

Background: In the 1990s, the mercury-based preservative thimerosal was used in most pediatric vaccines. Although there are currently only two thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) recommended for pediatric use, parental perceptions that vaccines pose safety concerns are affecting vaccination rates, particularly in light of the much expanded and more complex schedule in place today.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the safety of pediatric vaccine schedules in a non-human primate model.

Screening of viral pathogens from pediatric ileal tissue samples after vaccination.

In 2010, researchers reported that the two US-licensed rotavirus vaccines contained DNA or DNA fragments from porcine circovirus (PCV). Although PCV, a common virus among pigs, is not thought to cause illness in humans, these findings raised several safety concerns. In this study, we sought to determine whether viruses, including PCV, could be detected in ileal tissue samples of children vaccinated with one of the two rotavirus vaccines.

Neuropathology and animal models of autism: genetic and environmental factors.

Autism is a heterogeneous behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder. It is defined by the presence of marked social deficits, specific language abnormalities, and stereotyped repetitive patterns of behavior. Because of the variability in the behavioral phenotype of the disorder among patients, the term autism spectrum disorder has been established.

Improvements in Behavioral Symptoms following Antibiotic Therapy in a 14-Year-Old Male with Autism.

This case report describes the benefits of antibiotic and antifungal therapy on behavior in a child with autism undergoing treatment for encopresis. Over the course of treatment, the child exhibited a reduction in aberrant behaviors, increased gastrointestinal function, and improved quality of life.

Delayed acquisition of neonatal reflexes in newborn primates receiving a thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine: influence of gestational age and birth weight.

This study examined whether acquisition of neonatal reflexes in newborn rhesus macaques was influenced by receipt of a single neonatal dose of hepatitis B vaccine containing the preservative thimerosal (Th). Hepatitis B vaccine containing a weight-adjusted Th dose was administered to male macaques within 24 h of birth (n = 13). Unexposed animals received saline placebo (n = 4) or no injection (n = 3).