Simplifying Medication Regimens for People Receiving Community-Based Home Care Services: Outcomes of a Non-Randomized Pilot and Feasibility Study.

Purpose: Being able to manage a complex medication regimen is key to older people continuing to live at home. This study determined the feasibility of a multi-component intervention to simplify medication regimens for people receiving community-based home care services.

Patients And Methods: Research nurses recruited people receiving community-based home care services to participate in this non-randomized pilot and feasibility study (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12618001130257).

Lack of evidence for genomic instability in autistic children as measured by the cytokinesis-block micronucleus cytome assay.

Autism spectrum disorders are a set of neurodevelopmental disorders that are highly hereditable. Increased genomic instability has been observed in other heritable paediatric neurobiological disorders; therefore, the aim of our study was to test the hypothesis that DNA damage is increased in children with autism and that B vitamin status may explain variations in genome integrity between autistic and normal children. We compared 35 children with autism, 27 of their siblings without autism and 25 age- and gender-matched community controls for genomic stability using the cytokinesis-block micronucleus cytome (CBMN-cyt) assay, B vitamins and homocysteine, as well as autism-related behaviours.

Gastrointestinal microbiota and metabolite biomarkers in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Many affected individuals also display symptoms of gastrointestinal (GI) disturbance, suggesting GI factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis of ASD and/or related complications. The current review will focus on evidence supporting a role for the GI microbiota and their fermentation products in the etiology and/or symptoms of ASD, and their potential use as biomarkers.

Hospital admissions caused by adverse drug events: an Australian prospective study.

Objective: To assess the frequency of adverse drug event (ADE)-related admissions (ADE-RAs) during a prospective medical record review of patients admitted to a metropolitan tertiary referral hospital.

Methods: Potential ADE-RA cases were identified by examination of case records of randomly selected patients. Cases were assessed by an expert panel to measure study outcomes, which were the frequency (ADEs and ADE-RAs) as well as type, likelihood of causality, severity, avoidability and detection of ADEs.

Increased abundance of Sutterella spp. and Ruminococcus torques in feces of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Background: A recent report indicated that numbers of Sutterella spp. are elevated in gastrointestinal biopsies taken from children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We have recently reported changes in the numbers of some bacteria within the stool of ASD children, and now examine whether numbers of Sutterella spp.

Elevated fecal short chain fatty acid and ammonia concentrations in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Background And Aim: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder where a high frequency of gastrointestinal disturbance (e.g., constipation and diarrhea) is reported.

The potential role of the antioxidant and detoxification properties of glutathione in autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Glutathione has a wide range of functions; it is an endogenous anti-oxidant and plays a key role in the maintenance of intracellular redox balance and detoxification of xenobiotics. Several studies have indicated that children with autism spectrum disorders may have altered glutathione metabolism which could play a key role in the condition.

Methods: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis was conducted of studies examining metabolites, interventions and/or genes of the glutathione metabolism pathways i.

A review of candidate urinary biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder.

Context: Autism is a complex, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition with a strong genetic component potentially impacted by various environmental factors influencing susceptibility. There are no reliable laboratory tests available to confirm an autism diagnosis.

Objective: To examine the published literature and identify putative urinary biomarkers of autism.

Low relative abundances of the mucolytic bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila and Bifidobacterium spp. in feces of children with autism.

Gastrointestinal disturbance is frequently reported for individuals with autism. We used quantitative real-time PCR analysis to quantify fecal bacteria that could influence gastrointestinal health in children with and without autism. Lower relative abundances of Bifidobacteria species and the mucolytic bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila were found in children with autism, the latter suggesting mucus barrier changes.

Clinical outcomes of a collaborative, home-based postdischarge warfarin management service.

Background: Warfarin remains a high-risk drug for adverse events, especially following discharge from the hospital. New approaches are needed to minimize the potential for adverse outcomes during this period.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of a collaborative, home-based postdischarge warfarin management service adapted from the Australian Home Medicines Review (HMR) program.

Consumers' views of pharmacogenetics--A qualitative study.

Background: Adverse drug reactions are recognized as a significant public health issue. Pharmacogenetics (PGx) provides a potential means of preventing some adverse drug reactions by predicting the optimal medication dose for an individual; however, PGx is rarely used in clinical practice. Thus far, there have been few studies investigating consumers' perceptions of the barriers to the implementation of PGx in clinical practice.

Is there a role for routinely screening children with autism spectrum disorder for creatine deficiency syndrome?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that presents in the first three years of life. Currently, diagnosis of ASD is based on its behavioural manifestations, as laboratory diagnostic tests do not exist. Creatine deficiency syndrome (CDS) is one form of inborn error of metabolism where affected individuals have similar clinical features to individuals with ASD.

Folate and methionine metabolism in autism: a systematic review.

Background: Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is increasingly being recognized as a public health issue. Recent evidence has emerged that children with autism may have altered folate or methionine metabolism, which suggests the folate-methionine cycle may play a key role in the etiology of autism.

Objective: The objective was to conduct a systematic review to examine the evidence for the involvement of alterations in folate-methionine metabolism in the etiology of autism.

Is urinary indolyl-3-acryloylglycine a biomarker for autism with gastrointestinal symptoms?

An autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis is based on clinical behaviours as there are no validated biological diagnostic tools. Indolyl-3-acryloylglycine (IAG) is a chemical produced by gut microflora and there are conflicting reports as to whether urinary levels are elevated in children with ASD compared with controls. Urinary IAG levels in morning urine samples were statistically significantly higher in children with ASD whose caregivers reported the presence of chronic gastrointestinal (GI) disturbance than children with ASD without chronic GI disturbance.

Sensory processing subtypes in autism: association with adaptive behavior.

Children with autism are frequently observed to experience difficulties in sensory processing. This study examined specific patterns of sensory processing in 54 children with autistic disorder and their association with adaptive behavior. Model-based cluster analysis revealed three distinct sensory processing subtypes in autism.

The effect on medication errors of pharmacists charting medication in an emergency department.

Objective: To determine the frequency and clinical significance of medication errors when (a) pharmacists elicit medication histories in the Emergency Department after medications have been prescribed by doctors and (b) pharmacists obtain and chart medication histories prior to doctors' approval.

Setting: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a 350 bed South Australian teaching hospital, serving the local adult community.

Method: Emergency Department patients at risk of medication misadventure were recruited in two phases with a 'usual practice' arm (6 weeks) and a 'pharmacist medication charting' arm (5 weeks) reflecting an alternative intervention.

The relationship between sensory processing patterns and behavioural responsiveness in autistic disorder: a pilot study.

Sensory processing (SP) difficulties have been reported in as many as 95% of children with autism, however, empirical research examining the existence of specific patterns of SP difficulties within this population is scarce. Furthermore, little attention has been given to examining the relationship between SP and either the core symptoms or secondary manifestations of autism. In the current study, SP patterns in children with autistic disorder (AD) were investigated via a caregiver questionnaire and findings were correlated with the social, emotional and behavioural responsiveness of participants.