Pediatric dermatology patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and comorbid cutaneous conditions often face barriers to effective healthcare due to differences in communication preferences and sensitivities to environmental factors. The clinical intake process serves as a potential intervention point to help better understand and meet patients' needs. Strengths-based assessment and considerations around identity-first versus person-first language are tools that can improve the clinical intake process in pediatric dermatology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRyan Gainer, a 15-year-old African-American youth on the Autism-spectrum, was shot and killed by police officers in March 2024. The authors reflect on the tragedy of this incident and the harms that such police actions inflict on people living with disabilities and/or mental illnesses, as well as on their families, loved ones, and communities. Drawing on past research and similar incidents in recent years, the authors offer a series of systematic changes which may be effective in reducing the frequency and severity of police use of force on people on the autism spectrum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Neurodiversity describes the fact that humans all have different brains with unique qualities that contribute to society. Though understanding of neurodiversity is gaining traction among the general public, there remains considerable stigma and prejudice toward neurodiverse people. One way to combat these issues is to teach individuals about neurodiversity and encourage them to develop advocacy skills.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSelf-compassion is a gentle way of relating to oneself, linked to a host of mental health benefits in non-autistic people. Although many autistic individuals report high anxiety and depression symptoms, no research to-date has examined the self-compassion experiences of autistic individuals and determined if self-compassion is associated with psychopathology. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to address this research gap.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutism spectrum disorder is estimated to impact 1.5 million children and almost 5.5 million adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe neurobiology of autism has been shown to involve alterations in cortical morphology and gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABA ) receptor density. We hypothesized that GABA receptor binding potential (GABA R BP ) would correlate with cortical thickness, but their correlations would differ between autistic adults and typically developing (TD) controls. We studied 50 adults (23 autism, 27 TD, mean age of 27 years) using magnetic resonance imaging to measure cortical thickness, and [ F]flumazenil positron emission tomography imaging to measure GABA R BP .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlterations in sensorimotor functions are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such aberrations suggest the involvement of the thalamus due to its key role in modulating sensorimotor signaling in the cortex. Although previous research has linked atypical thalamocortical connectivity with ASD, investigations of this association in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) are lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been associated with imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory (E/I) neurotransmission systems, as well as with neuroinflammation. Sitting at the crossroads between E/I imbalance and neuroinflammation is a class of endogenous hormones known as neurosteroids. Current literature points to dysregulated steroid metabolism and atypical neurosteroid levels in ASD as early as in utero.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMotor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury related deaths. Urban areas accommodate multiple road users and pedestrians account for a larger share of traffic fatalities. Speed reduction has been one component of New York City's multidisciplinary approach to reduce traffic fatalities-Vision Zero.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe use of digital dentistry is on the increase as costs to acquire digital technology have gone down dramatically and allowed for more practitioners to integrate digital equipment with reduced investment. One of the most significant benefits of digital technology in dentistry is the ability to streamline processes that can be cumbersome via the analog way. In digital dentistry, it is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each device or system available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmission system has been implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Molecular neuroimaging studies incorporating simultaneous acquisitions of GABA concentrations and GABA receptor densities can identify objective molecular markers in ASD. We measured both total GABA receptor densities by using [F]flumazenil positron emission tomography ([F]FMZ-PET) and GABA concentrations by using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) in 28 adults with ASD and 29 age-matched typically developing (TD) individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe social impairments of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a major impact on quality of life, yet there are no medications that effectively treat these core social behavior deficits. Preclinical research suggests that arginine vasopressin (AVP), a neuropeptide involved in promoting mammalian social behaviors, may be a possible treatment for ASD. Using a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel study design, we tested the efficacy and tolerability of a 4-week intranasal AVP daily treatment in 30 children with ASD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more prevalent in males than females. Previous research indicates females camouflage ASD symptoms more than males, potentially contributing to the difference in prevalence. This study investigated sex/gender differences in behavioral phenotypes in 17 males and 11 females with ASD, as well camouflaging in ASD, in an attempt to partially replicate findings from Lai et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisiting restaurants, bars, clubs, and lounges is a regular part of urban cultural life for residents and tourists alike; however, anecdotal reports and diner surveys suggest that sound levels are excessive and diners dislike them. High sound levels in these venues can contribute to both patron and employee overexposure, and young people may be particularly at risk. To supplement the paucity of literature and data on noise in urban venues, patron noise exposure was measured inside a sample of loud New York City restaurants, bars, clubs, and lounges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Motor vehicle traffic (MVT) crashes kill or seriously injure approximately 4250 people in New York City (NYC) each year. Traditionally, NYC surveillance practices use hospitalization and crash data separately to monitor trends in MVT-related injuries, but key information linking crash circumstances to health outcomes is lost when analyzing these data sources in isolation. Our objective was to match crash reports to hospitalization records to create a traffic injury surveillance dataset that can be used to describe crash circumstances and related injury outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMRI-guided pulsed focused ultrasound combined with systemic infusion of contrast agent microbubbles induces local neuroinflammation in the rat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The availability of GABA receptor binding sites in the brain can be assessed by positron emission tomography (PET) using the radioligand, [F]flumazenil. However, the brain uptake and binding of this PET radioligand are influenced by anesthetic drugs, which are typically needed in preclinical imaging studies and clinical imaging studies involving patient populations that do not tolerate relatively longer scan times. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of anesthesia on the binding of [F]flumazenil to GABA receptors in mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysical inactivity is one of the major modifiable lifestyle risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This protocol aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Tai Chi versus brisk walking in reducing CVD risk factors. This is a randomized controlled trial with three arms, namely, Tai Chi group, walking group, and control group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) caring for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often encounter irritability (vocal or motoric outbursts expressive of anger, frustration, or distress) and problem behavior (directed acts of aggression toward other people, self, or property). The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health and Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network charged a multidisciplinary workgroup with developing a practice pathway to assist PCPs in the evaluation and treatment of irritability and problem behavior (I/PB).
Methods: The workgroup reviewed the literature on the evaluation and treatment of contributory factors for I/PB in ASD.
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasingly recognized as a public health issue. Irritability and aggression (IA) often negatively affect the lives of people with ASD and their families. Although many medications have been tested for IA in ASDs in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), critical quantitative analyses of these trials are lacking in the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe field of psychiatry is approaching a major inflection point. The basic science behind cognition, emotion, behavior, and social processes has been advancing rapidly in the past 20 years. However, clinical research supporting the classification system in psychiatry has not kept up with these scientific advances.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProg Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
April 2016
White matter abnormalities have been described in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with mounting evidence implicating these alterations in the pathophysiology of the aberrant connectivity reported in this disorder. The goal of this investigation is to further examine white matter structure in ASD using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS). Multi-voxel, short echo-time in vivo(1)H MRS data were collected from 17 male children with ASD and 17 healthy age- and gender-matched controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmacologic treatments targeting specific molecular mechanisms relevant for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are beginning to emerge in early drug development. This article reviews the evidence for the disruption of glutamatergic neurotransmission in animal models of social deficits and summarizes key pre-clinical and clinical efforts in developing pharmacologic interventions based on modulation of glutamatergic systems in individuals with ASD. Understanding the pathobiology of the glutamatergic system has led to the development of new investigational treatments for individuals with ASD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe changes in the diagnostic classification of the pervasive developmental disorders from the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) to DSM-5 are expected to affect patients with autism, their families, as well as clinicians and researchers in the field of autism. This article reviews the new DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Social Communication Disorder (SCD), and discusses potential consequences in the perspectives of major stakeholders.
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