Signalling pathways in autism spectrum disorder: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent and complex neurodevelopmental disorder which has strong genetic basis. Despite the rapidly rising incidence of autism, little is known about its aetiology, risk factors, and disease progression. There are currently neither validated biomarkers for diagnostic screening nor specific medication for autism.

Shared genetics between autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and their association with extraversion.

Background: Deciphering the genetic relationships between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may uncover underlining shared pathophysiology as well as inform treatment.

Methods: The summary results of genome-wide association studies on ADHD, ASD, and extraversion were utilized for the analyzes. Genetic correlations between ADHD, ASD, and extraversion were tested using linkage disequilibrium score regression.

Neurodevelopmental domain characteristics and their association with core symptoms in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder in China: a nationwide multicenter study.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of clinically heterogenic neurodevelopmental disorders, with intellectual disability being one of its common comorbidities. No large-sample, multicenter study has focused on the neurodevelopmental aspect of preschoolers with ASD. This study investigated the neurodevelopmental characteristics of preschoolers with ASD in China and explored the association between them and the core symptoms.

Vitamin A Status Is More Commonly Associated With Symptoms and Neurodevelopment in Boys With Autism Spectrum Disorders-A Multicenter Study in China.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, and show a striking male bias in prevalence. Vitamin A (VA) is essential for brain development, and abnormalities in its metabolite retinoic acid are associated with the pathophysiology of ASD. This national multicenter study was conducted to investigate the relationship between serum VA level and core symptoms in ASD children and whether there are still sex differences.

A Multi-Center Study on the Relationship Between Developmental Regression and Disease Severity in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of developmental regression in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and to explore its relationship with disease severity.

Methods: We finally included 1,027 ASD children aged 2-5 years from 13 cities in China: 138 with regressive ASD and 889 with non-regressive ASD. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Child Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Children Neuropsychological and Behavioral Scale-Revision 2016 (CNBS-R2016) were used to evaluate the core symptoms and developmental status of children in the two groups.

Application of Telemedicine for Preliminary Screening of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Objective: Preliminary screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is mainly performed offline in China. This method is time consuming, labor intensive, inefficient and costly. These complications limit its routine implementation in some hospitals and child health institutions, especially community health service centers.

Reliability, validity and developmental sensitivity of the Language Use Inventory (LUI) in the Chinese context.

Background: Pragmatics has generally been defined as the ability to use language in social situations, it is commonly regarded as the third major component of language ability. To date, there is no tool for assessing early pragmatic development of Chinese-speaking children.

Aims: To describe the translation of the Language Use Inventory (LUI) from English to Mandarin Chinese and to report findings on the Chinese version's reliability, validity and developmental sensitivity.

Atypical Neural Responses of Cognitive Flexibility in Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Impaired cognitive flexibility has been repeatedly demonstrated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is strong evidence for genetic involvement in ASD. First-degree relatives of individuals with ASD may show mild deficits in cognitive inflexibility.

Towards-Person Vocalization Effect on Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Context of Frustration.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the vocalization characteristics of infants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the context of frustration. The duration and frequency of vocalization in 48 infants with ASD and 65 infants with typical development (TD) were followed up to 24 months later for subsequent diagnosis. The typical vocalizations of infants with ASD were retrospectively analyzed, such as speech-like vocalizations, nonspeech vocalizations, vocalizations towards the person and non-social vocalizations.

[The Autism Spectrum Disorder Cohort-the sub-cohort of China National Birth Cohort].

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a representative disease of children's neurodevelopmental disorders, brings huge pressure and financial burden to families and society. It is of great significance to explore its etiology and pathogenesis. Therefore, we established an ASD Cohort based on the existing China National Birth Cohort (CNBC), which applied parallel design to recruit and follow up families who achieved pregnancy after receiving assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and families with spontaneous conception.

The characteristics and factors of the internalizing and externalizing behaviours of children at high risk for autism spectrum disorder.

Background: The behavioral characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not only affected by their disease, but also by their parenting environment. HR-ASD has the risk of developing internalization and externalization problems. How the early development of these behavioral problems is affected by parent-child interaction is worth exploring.

[Psychological and behavioral functioning of children and adolescents during long-term home-schooling].

To study the characteristics and risk factors of psychological and behavioral problems of children and adolescents of different ages and genders in long-term home-schooling during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic. Further, to provide scientific basis for more targeted psychological intervention and coping strategies in the future. A cross-sectional survey using an online questionnaire was conducted on students aged 6-16 years old in five representative cities of North (Beijing), East (Shanghai), West (Chongqing), South (Guangzhou) and Middle (Wuhan) in China.

Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder: a multicenter survey.

Background: High prevalence of sleep problems have been reported in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study aims to investigate the sleep conditions of ASD children in China, and explore the relationship between the common sleep problems and core symptoms and developmental levels.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, we included 2 to 7-year-old children from 13 cities in China: 1310 with ASD and 1158 with typically-developing (TD) children.

Shared and Distinct Topologically Structural Connectivity Patterns in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Background: Previous neuroimaging studies have described shared and distinct neurobiological mechanisms between autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, little is known about the similarities and differences in topologically structural connectivity patterns between the two disorders.

Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and deterministic tractography were used to construct the brain white matter (WM) structural networks of children and adolescents (age range, 6-16 years); 31 had ASD, 34 had ADHD, and 30 were age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) individuals.

Psychosocial and behavioral problems of children and adolescents in the early stage of reopening schools after the COVID-19 pandemic: a national cross-sectional study in China.

This study aims to explore the psychosocial and behavioral problems of children and adolescents in the early stage of reopening schools. In this national cross-sectional study, a total of 11072 students from China were naturally divided into two groups based on their schooling status: reopened schools (RS) and home schooling (HS) group. The psychosocial and behavioral functioning were measured by Achenbach Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) and compared in these two groups.

Serum Folate Status Is Primarily Associated With Neurodevelopment in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Aged Three and Under-A Multi-Center Study in China.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder. Folate has been demonstrated to be associated with ASD. However, current studies on the correlation between folate and symptoms of children with ASD have inconsistent conclusions, use mainly small samples, and lack age-stratified analysis.

Comparison of clinical characteristics and treatment efficacy in childhood-onset schizophrenia and adolescent-onset schizophrenia in mainland China: A retrospective study.

Aim: The comparative study of childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) and adolescent-onset schizophrenia (AOS) is scarce. This study aimed to examine the differences in clinical presentations and treatment efficacy between COS and AOS and further analyse the factors affecting the efficacy of early-onset schizophrenia (EOS).

Methods: A total of 582 electronic medical records of inpatients with EOS (216 COS and 366 AOS inpatients) between 2012 and 2019 were retrospectively analysed.

Analysis of the status of drug treatment in 746 inpatients with early-onset schizophrenia in China: a retrospective study.

Background: There is limited evidence on the use of antipsychotics in patients with early-onset schizophrenia, which lags significantly behind the studies on adult patients' medication and has a large disparity from actual clinical needs. Hence, this study aims to analyse the status of the drug use and its changes for patients with early-onset schizophrenia in our ward and to provide references on clinical medications for children and adolescents with schizophrenia.

Methods: The distribution of antipsychotics on the day of discharge and their changes over time were retrospectively analysed in our inpatient department from March 2012 to July 2019.

Predictors of Change in Play-Based Communication and Behavior Intervention for High-Risk ASD: The Role of Mother-Child Dyadic Synchrony.

Interindividual variability is important in the evolution of adaptative profiles of children with ASD having benefited from an early intervention make up for deficits in communication, language and social interactions. Therefore, this paper aimed to determine the nature of factors influencing the efficacy variability of a particular intervention technique i.e.

Long non-coding RNA MALAT1 targeting STING transcription promotes bronchopulmonary dysplasia through regulation of CREB.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a severe complication of preterm infants characterized by increased alveolarization and inflammation. Premature exposure to hyperoxia is believed to be a key contributor to the pathogenesis of BPD. No effective preventive or therapeutic agents have been created.

[Characteristics of vocalization in children with autism spectrum disorder during the still-face paradigm].

Objective: To study the characteristics of vocalization during the still-face paradigm (SFP) before the age of 2 years and their correlation with the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms at diagnosis in children with ASD.

Methods: A total of 43 children aged 7-23 months, who were suspected of ASD, were enrolled as the suspected ASD group, and 37 typical development (TD) children, aged 7-23 months, were enrolled as the TD group. The frequency and durations of vocalization in the SFP were measured.

Longitudinal Study of Brain Asymmetries in Autism and Developmental Delays Aged 2-5 Years.

Some previous studies have demonstrated atypical brain lateralization in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, most of these reports have focused on language-related asymmetries in adults, and the developmental trajectory of hemispheric asymmetries in the important phase that occurs at 2-5 years of age remains unclear. Thus, we used structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in a longitudinal study of grey matter (GM) asymmetries across all cortical parcellation units (PUs) and white matter (WM) lateralization across the WM skeleton using voxel-based morphometry and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) in 34 toddlers with ASD and a matched group of 26 toddlers with developmental delay (DD) at 2-3 years old and with follow-up at 4-5 years of age.

Homologous G Protein-Coupled Receptors Boost the Modeling and Interpretation of Bioactivities of Ligand Molecules.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are one of the most important drug targets, accounting for ∼34% of drugs on the market. For drug discovery, accurate modeling and explanation of bioactivities of ligands is critical for the screening and optimization of hit compounds. Homologous GPCRs are more likely to interact with chemically similar ligands, and they tend to share common binding modes with ligand molecules.

Anomalies in uncinate fasciculus development and social defects in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have social interaction deficits and difficulties in emotional regulation. The neural substrates for these socio-affective deficits are not yet clear, but one potential candidate is maldevelopment of the uncinate fasciculus (UF), a white matter tract thought to be involved in socio-affective processing. However, the developmental trajectory of the UF in young children with social interaction deficits has not been examined.

Structural networks in children with autism spectrum disorder with regression: A graph theory study.

Background: Regression is frequently described in Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Limited comprehensive studies have been conducted in patients with ASD with regression.

Purpose: To explore the network topological properties in ASD children with (ASD-R) and without (ASD-NR) regression.