ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the effect of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the executive functioning and core symptoms of preschool children on the autism spectrum.Methods:Forty-three preschool children showing signs of autism were randomly divided into an rTMS group of 21 and a control group of 22. In addition to routine rehabilitation and training in basic living skills, the rTMS group was additionally provided with 1Hz rTMS for 8 weeks. Before and after the treatment, both groups were evaluated using the preschool version of the Behavior Rating Inventory for Executive Function (BRIEF-P), the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), the revised version of the Repetitive Behavior Scale (RBS-R) and the Child Autism Rating Scale (CARS).Results:After the 8 weeks of treatment, the average BRIEF-P, SRS, RBS-R and CARS scores of both groups had improved significantly, but the rTMS group′s averages where then significantly better than those of the control group.Conclusions:Low-frequency rTMS in addition to conventional rehabilitation intervention can significantly improve the executive functioning and core symptoms of preschool children on the autism spectrum.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To observe any effect of repetitive low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on sleep disorders and abnormal behaviors of children on the autism spectrum.Methods:Forty autistic children were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, each of 20. Both groups were given sleep behavior training and individualized conventional rehabilitation training. Those in the observation group also received 30min of rTMS at 1Hz applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortical area once a day, 5 days a week. Before and after 8 weeks of this treatment, both groups were evaluated using the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), the Child Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the children′s Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ).Results:The average CARS and CSHQ scores, as well as the total ABC score of both groups increased significantly over the 8 weeks, but the average CARS and CSHQ scores, as well as the total ABC score of the observation group were then significantly better than in the control group. After the treatment, the average ABC scores for sensory ability, communication ability, motor ability, and language ability were significantly lower than before the treatment for both groups, but the observation group′s averages were then significantly better than those of the control group.Conclusions:Supplementing routine intervention with low-frequency rTMS can effectively improve the sleeping and correct the abnormal behavior patterns of autistic children.
ABSTRACT
To investigate the human impact on the evolutionary ecology of animal pathogens, we compared genetic diversity of severe foodborne parasites contracted by eating infected pork or wild game. In particular, we characterized Trichinella spp. from twenty-eight countries and four continents by genotyping nine microsatellite loci and sequencing one-fifth of the mitochondrial genome. All specimens of Trichinella spiralis, a swine parasite that can infect many species of wildlife, were remarkably uniform across Europe, North Africa, and the Americas. Far greater diversity characterized a comparable sample of Trichinella britovi, which parasitizes various sylvatic mammals endemic to Eurasia and North-Western Africa. A limited sample of T. spiralis in Asia, where swine were first domesticated, encompassed greater genetic variability than those in the West, as did small samples of Trichinella nativa and Trichinella murrelli, which parasitize wildlife hosts. We conclude that European lineages of T. spiralis originated several thousand years ago, approximately when pigs were first domesticated there. These data also imply that Europeans inadvertently introduced T. spiralis to the Americas via infected pigs and/or rats. Despite evidence that early hominid hunters ingested foodborne parasites by hunting wild game millions of years earlier, swine husbandry has governed the subsequent transmission, dissemination, and evolutionary diversification of T. spiralis. Where viable parasites have been eliminated from their diet, the residual risk posed to swine by exposure to wildlife or rats should be more precisely defined because breaking the cycle of transmission would confer enduring economic and health benefits.
