Feasibility of a school-based mental health program implementation to improve the status of depression and quality of life of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders in urban Bangladesh: MENTHOL study.

Background: We assessed the feasibility of implementing psychological counseling services (PCS) for mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) integrated within special education settings in urban Bangladesh.

Method: In two special education schools for ASD in Dhaka City, trained female psychologists screened mothers using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). PCS was administered to all the mothers irrespective of a diagnosis of depression.

Autism spectrum disorder among 16- to 30-month-old children in Bangladesh: Observational cross-sectional study.

A nationwide survey was done in Bangladesh to assess autism spectrum disorder prevalence in 16- to 30-month-old children at urban-rural distribution and to determine the association with socioeconomic and demographic conditions. A three-stage cluster sampling method was used where districts from all divisions were selected in the first stage, census enumeration areas as blocks of households were selected in the second stage and households (within the blocks) were selected in the third stage. Thereby, it included 38,440 children from 37,982 households (71% rural, 29% urban) aged 16-30 months from 30 districts of eight divisions of Bangladesh.

Pulse Methylprednisolone with Oral Prednisolone versus Adrenocorticotropic Hormone in Children with West Syndrome: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background And Purpose: West syndrome is an epileptic encephalopathy of infancy. According to guidelines, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) is probably effective for the short-term management of infantile spasm, but there is little uniformity in treatment due to variable response. This study has been done to evaluate the efficacy of pulse methylprednisolone as compared to ACTH in children with West syndrome.

Grant Report on mCARE: Mobile-Based Care for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

In low- and middle-income countries, especially in Bangladesh, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may be considered an anathema, and social-cultural-financial constraints mean that there are few facilities available for treatment for ASD children. The revolution in the use of the mobile phone (~80%) by the majority of people in Bangladesh in recent years has created an opportunity to improve the overall scenario in the treatment or remote monitoring process for children with ASD. In this grant project, we planned and developed a mobile phone-based system to remotely monitor children with ASD and help their treatment process both at the caregiver and care practitioner ends.

Clinicoradiologic Profile and Outcome of Children With Tubercular Meningitis in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangladesh.

Background: Children are most vulnerable to tubercular meningitis. Neuroimaging is an important initial investigation in tubercular meningitis.

Objective: This study was done to describe the clinical profile, neuroimaging changes, and clinical outcome in children with tubercular meningitis.

Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among the children aged 18-36 months in a rural community of Bangladesh: A cross sectional study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and characteristic patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication and interaction. In Bangladesh, autism in children is a significant burden of disease. Early identification of ASD could improve quality of life.

Implementing a Mental Health Care Program and Home-Based Training for Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in an Urban Population in Bangladesh: Protocol for a Feasibility Assessment Study.

Background: Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have reported a higher level of depression than mothers of children with other neurodevelopmental disorders in both developed and developing countries. Mothers are the lifetime caregivers of children with ASD, and a high burden of depression can negatively impact their ability to provide care. However, access to mental health services in primary care is limited, given the scarcity of qualified providers in Bangladesh.

Smart autism - a mobile, interactive and integrated framework for screening and confirmation of autism.

Smart Autism is a cloud based, automated framework for autism screening and confirmation. In developing countries, due to lack of resources and expertise, autism is detected later than early ages which consequently delays timely intervention. Therefore a mobile, interactive and integrated framework is proposed to screen and confirm autism in different age group (0 to 17 years) with 3 layers of assessment process.

Antithrombotic Effects of Five Organic Extracts of Bangladeshi Plants In Vitro and Mechanisms in In Silico Models.

This research was carried out to investigate the thrombolytic effects of the methanolic extracts of five Bangladeshi plants. Phytochemical metabolites of those plants have been identified to elucidate whether the plant-derived metabolites are linked with the thrombolytic effects. Potential computer aided models were adopted in this study to find out a structure-function correlation between the phytochemical constituents and thrombolytic effects using the secondary metabolites as ligands and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) as receptor for the best fit ligand-receptor interaction.

Epilepsy in children with cerebral palsy.

This was a prospective analytical study done from October'99 through December 2000 to observe the clinical profile of epilepsy in children with cerebral palsy. Sixty epileptic children with cerebral palsy were studied and their results were compared with the results of epilepsy in 30 developmentally normal children. Ages of all children studied were 1-15 years.