Pregnancy fever exposure and neurodevelopmental disorder risk
Fever (febrile episodes) during pregnancy does seem to increase the risk of offspring neurodevelopmental disorder according to a recent review of the published research. Analyzing studies cumulatively including nearly half a million pregnant women, and 80,000 children exposed to pregnancy fever, the risk of various neurodevelopmental diagnoses were elevated, particularly later receipt of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Authors talk about the mechanisms of maternal immune activation (MIA) as being important to their findings, and caution on how the recent pandemic may have important consequences for many pregnant women and their children.
Antoun S, Ellul P, Peyre H, Rosenzwajg M, Gressens P, Klatzmann D, Delorme R. Fever during pregnancy as a risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders: results from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mol Autism. 2021 Sep 18;12(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s13229-021-00464-4.
“About 1/10 autistic individuals also had epilepsy”
Epilepsy and/or seizure disorders are more common in those with autism than in the general population. That was the conclusion reached in a study out of China looking at the collected literature in this area concluding that 1 in 10 people with autism have epilepsy as a comorbid or co-occurring condition. Researchers also noted that adults with autism were more likely to present with epilepsy than children, females seemed to be at greater risk for epilepsy and also stressed the important connection between epilepsy and intellectual functioning (learning disability). Such research reinforces the very, very strong links between autism and epilepsy and the need for more screening and intervention measures to limit the often profound effects epilepsy can have on quality of life and contribution to early mortality.
Liu X, Sun X, Sun C, Zou M, Chen Y, Huang J, Wu L, Chen WX. Prevalence of epilepsy in autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Autism. 2021 Sep 13:13623613211045029. doi: 10.1177/13623613211045029.
Exercise for executive function issues in autism
Most people appreciate the physical benefits of exercise and physical activity, but there’s a growing realization that exercise also has multiple cognitive and behavioral advantages too. A recent paper from Hong Kong highlights how various exercise regimes seem to promote important changes specific to executive functions in children and adolescents with autism. Executive functions, covering things like cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, were shown to be positively affected by the use of exercise regimes. Allied to the physical health benefits, a strong case is made for increasing physical activity participation where autism is diagnosed.
Liang X, Li R, Wong SHS, Sum RKW, Wang P, Yang B, Sit CHP. The Effects of Exercise Interventions on Executive Functions in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2021 Sep 1. doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01545-3.
Full-text: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34468951/
‘Leaky gut’ and autism reviewed
Intestinal hyperpermeability, also known as ‘leaky gut’, has a long history in autism research. A new paper from researchers in Saudi Arabia offers an important overview of the concept and how it still continues to provide useful avenues for research and clinical practice. Covering various areas of interest including the connections between leaky gut and gut microbiota and the intestinal immune system, authors highlight the many and varied ways that leaky gut can be measured and how it can be affected by diet, probiotics and other medicines and supplements in relation to autism. They conclude by calling for further study on this important topic.
Al-Ayadhi L, Zayed N, Bhat RS, Moubayed NMS, Al-Muammar MN, El-Ansary A. The use of biomarkers associated with leaky gut as a diagnostic tool for early intervention in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review. Gut Pathog. 2021 Sep 13;13(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s13099-021-00448-y
Early onset dementia common in autism?
A worrying new paper out of Drexel University has highlighted yet another potentially important issue that adults with autism may face: early-onset dementia. Analysing data from the Medicaid initiative, authors observed that between 4-5% of participants with autism under 65 years of age were also diagnosed with dementia including Alzheimer's Disease. This translates into adults with autism being 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the general population. Such research adds to the increasingly important focus on aging in autism, and how more research on potentially shared biological mechanisms may yield some important answers for both autism and dementia.
Vivanti G, Tao S, Lyall K, Robins DL, Shea LL. The prevalence and incidence of early-onset dementia among adults with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res. 2021 Aug 11. doi: 10.1002/aur.2590.
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