Can Red Blood Cell and Platelet Parameters Be Associated With Inflammation in Children With Tic Disorder?

OBJECTIVE: Tic disorder (TD) is one of the neurodevelopmental disorders and its etiology has not been fully elucidated. Complete blood count (CBC) values have been used as indicators of a systemic inflammatory response. In our study, we aimed to assess hemogram parameters in drug-naive, comorbidity-free children with TD compared with controls. METHODS: This retrospective study included 62 drug-naive children with TD who had undergone CBC within one month prior to the study. A control group of 48 healthy children, matched for age and gender, without any organic or psychiatric disorders, was included. Statistical analysis was performed by using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0 (Released 2013; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States).  Results: Hematocrit (p = 0.044), mean corpuscular volume (p = 0.002), platelet count (p = 0.011), and plateletcrit (p = 0.031) values were significantly higher in the TD group, whereas mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.00) was significantly lower in the TD group. Additionally, a significant negative correlation was observed between the duration of illness and platelet (p = 0.05, r=-0.282), plateletcrit (p = 0.038, r = -0.295), and neutrophil count (p = 0.006, r = -0.391), while a positive correlation was found between the duration of illness and eosinophil count (p = 0.018, r = 0.336). CONCLUSION: The results revealed several significant differences in hemogram parameters between TD patients and the control group. These may suggest the role of inflammation and/or other underlying mechanisms in TD and may inspire new studies. Future studies with larger and more homogeneous samples, including comprehensive inflammatory markers, may contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between inflammation and TD.

Sociodemographic and social barriers to early detection of autism.

BACKGROUND: The increasing incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common finding of many studies. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment approaches for ASD can provide favourable clinical outcomes. This study aimed to determine the factors affecting the age at diagnosis, in children with ASD. METHODS: Two hundred and two cases diagnosed with ASD were included in the study, according to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, at the Mersin City Training and Research Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinics, between April 2021 and August 2022. Clinical features and sociodemographic data that may be related to early diagnosis were investigated. RESULTS: The mean age at diagnosis was 36.76 ± 15.30 months. In 71.3% of cases parents were the first to suspect that children were developmentally different. In 38.1% of the cases, at least one of the parents denied the symptoms and evaluated their child`s development as age-appropriate. It was found that 32.7% of the cases evaluated by pediatricians and 32.5% of cases evaluated by family physicians, were referred to child psychiatry examination. The present study revealed that higher educational level of the father and the middlehigh socioeconomic status, were associated with early diagnosis. There was also a positive correlation between paternal age and age at diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The age at diagnosis is below the target level for early diagnosis. Studies should focus on increasing awareness of health professionals and parents about ASD.

Reduction in Retinal Ganglion Cell Layer, Inner Plexiform Layer, and Choroidal Thickness in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PURPOSES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), choroidal layer, inner plexiform layer (IPL), and ganglion cell layer (GCL) in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: In this study, we measured the thickness of the RNFL, GCL, IPL, and choroidal thickness using a spectral optical coherence tomography (OCT) device and we compared the results between the children diagnosed with ASD and healthy controls. Correlation between the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the OCT data was evaluated. RESULTS: Both ASD and control group consisted of 40 subjects (30 males and 10 females). Of the children in the ASD group, 29 had normal intelligence and 11 had mild intellectual disability (MID). The mean age of patients in the ASD group and control groups were 9.77 ± 3.37 years and 9.85 ± 3.97 years (p = 0.928). There was a statistically significant difference between the ASD group and the control group in the nasal and nasal-superior sectors of the RNFL layers in the left eye when all the lower layers of RNFL were assessed. In both eyes, the children with ASD had considerably lower mean choroidal thicknesses than the controls. When compared to the controls, the GCL and IPL volumes in the individuals with ASD were considerably lower in both eyes. Compared to the MID group, the left GCL volume of the nasal-inferior group was noticeably higher. A significant correlation was found between CARS scores and left GCL left IPL. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to RNFL in the ASD group, significant reductions in IPL, GCL, and choroidal thickness were observed in both eyes. It is thought that GCL may be a much more important biomarker than RNFL in terms of representing the structural deterioration in the brain. In addition, these results may form the basis for a new perspective on the use of OCT for the diagnosis and clinical course of autism.

Psychological profiles, quality of life, and parental attitudes in children with Sighing dyspnea.

BACKGROUND: There are a limited number of studies investigating the relationship of sighing dyspnea (SD) with psychiatric disorders and various mental states. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled 39 pediatric patients with SD, but free from apparent cardiopulmonary diseases, who presented to a pediatric pulmonology policlinic between June and December 2019 and age-gender matched 34 healthy children were recruited for comparison. Patient characteristics, psychological or physical trauma history, and cigarette smoke exposure were recorded. All the participants completed the "NOSE scale," "Modified Borg Scale," "Children Depression Inventory," "Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders," "Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory," "Stress Coping Style Scale," "Family Assessment Device," and "Parents Attitude Scale." RESULTS: Compared to the control group, there was a statistically significantly higher rate in the SD group of physical or psychological trauma history (35.9% vs. 14.7%, p = .04) and passive cigarette smoking (60.5% vs.27.3%, p = .005). When the groups were compared in respect of depression and anxiety levels, the depression score, total anxiety level, somatic/panic, generalized anxiety and fear of school points were determined to be statistically significantly higher in the SD group. The QoL scores (total, physical, and psychosocial) in the SD group were found to be statistically significantly lower than those of the control group. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to have examined the psychological profiles of SD patients and their families in detail, and to have evaluated the effect of SD on quality of life.

Home participation, support and barriers among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: Few studies have focused on the participation of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in daily routine and leisure activities. This study aimed to compare the participation, support and barriers for children with ADHD at home pre-COVID-19 and during the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: The study included 55 children with ADHD aged 6-11 years. Participation frequency, involvement, desire for change, supports and barriers at home were assessed using the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY). RESULTS: During the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the pre-COVID-19 period, the mean frequency of participation of children with ADHD in computer and video games (5.8% vs 5%, respectively), socialising with other people (7% vs 6.2%) and household chores (5.5% vs 4.6%) was shown to be significantly higher (p < 0.05). Mothers of children with ADHD reported higher levels of involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the pre-COVID-19 period across four areas of home participation, including computer and video games (4.1% vs 3.2%, respectively), arts, crafts, music and hobbies (3.7% vs 3%), household chores (3.6% vs 2.8%) and personal care management (4.2% vs 3.5%) p < 0.05). Mothers of children with ADHD reported that during the pandemic the following two features of the environment made participation easier than pre-COVID-19 (p < 0.05): cognitive demands (36.4% vs 60%, respectively) and social demands (5.5% vs 34.5%). More mothers reported that services (92.7%), supplies (87.3%) and information (85.5%) were available and/or adequate in the COVID-19 period than pre-COVID-19 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Mothers of children with ADHD reported that their children were participating more frequently in some of the home-related activities during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-COVID-19. Reduced cognitive and social demands, and more readily available resources in the home environment during the COVID-19 period resulted in increased home participation compared to pre-COVID-19.

Platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in alcohol use disorder.

Lymphocyte-related parameters in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) have recently been investigated. However, knowledge of platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in AUD is limited. In this study, we compared complete blood count values of 31 AUD male patients and 31 healthy male controls. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of PLR (p = .123). When the age was controlled, there was a negative correlation between the duration of alcohol use and PLR (r = -0.567; p = .005). The significance of the parameters in the AUD group was found to be related to the duration of alcohol use.

Mean platelet volume and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as parameters to indicate the severity of suicide attempt.

This study was designed to compare the complete blood count (CBC) values of 38 violent suicidal attempt (VSA) and 38 nonviolent suicidal attempt (NVSA) patients and 38 healthy controls, particularly mean platelet volume (MPV) and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). MPV was found to be significantly higher (P = 0.000), and PLT was found to be significantly lower in the VSA group (P = 0.001). NLR was found to be significantly higher (P = 0.005) in the VSA group. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of MPV levels for VSA was 0.78 and 0.68 for NLR in the VSA group when compared with the NVSA group.

Complete blood count alterations due to the opioid use: what about the lymphocyte-related ratios, especially in monocyte to lymphocyte ratio and platelet to lymphocyte ratio?

This study was designed to compare the complete blood count values of opioid users (N = 61) and healthy subjects (N = 61), particularly monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR). PLR, MLR, and percentage of monocyte (MONO%) were significantly lower in opioid use disorder (OUD) group (P = 0.012, P = 0.005, P = 0.000). The area under the ROC curve of MLR and PLR levels for OUD was 0.349 and 0.368. MONO% correlated with substance use duration. Measurements like lymphocyte-related ratios and MONO% in opioid use can be important in substance monitoring, detection, and differentiation of acute and chronic conditions.