Efficacy of a Day-Hospital Treatment Program for Child with Pervasive Developmental Disorder and Mental Retardation : A Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a day-hospital treatment program designed to help development of children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and mental retardation (MR). METHODS: Retrospective review of the charts of 32 children (28 with PDD, 4 with MR), who participated in a day-hospital treatment program of Seoul Metropolitan Eunpyeong Hospital, from October 2008 to February 2012, was conducted. Development level of each patient was evaluated according to the Psycho-Educational Profile-Revised (PEP-R), Social Maturity Scale (SMS), and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Evaluation was done at two points, before participation and after 1 year participation. RESULTS: Children who participated in the day-hospital treatment program showed significant improvement in all categories of PEP-R, SMS, and CARS. CONCLUSION: Day-hospital treatment program is effective for helping development of children with PDD and MR.

Development and Clinical Evaluation of a Rapid Serodiagnostic Test for Toxoplasmosis of Cats Using Recombinant SAG1 Antigen

Rapid serodiagnostic methods for Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats are urgently needed for effective control of transmission routes toward human infections. In this work, 4 recombinant T. gondii antigens (SAG1, SAG2, GRA3, and GRA6) were produced and tested for the development of rapid diagnostic test (RDT). The proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli, affinity-purified, and applied onto the nitrocellulose membrane of the test strip. The recombinant SAG1 (rSAG1) showed the strongest antigenic activity and highest specificity among them. We also performed clinical evaluation of the rSAG1-loaded RDT in 182 cat sera (55 household and 127 stray cats). The kit showed 0.88 of kappa value comparing with a commercialized ELISA kit, which indicated a significant correlation between rSAG1-loaded RDT and the ELISA kit. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the RDT were 100% (23/23) and 99.4% (158/159), respectively. The rSAG1-loaded RDT is rapid, easy to use, and highly accurate. Thus, it would be a suitable diagnostic tool for rapid detection of antibodies in T. gondii-infected cats under field conditions.