Mismatch Negativity and Auditory Brain Stem Response in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Language Disorders.

Objective: Language disorders (LD) in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are highly variable and has a severe impact on the level of functioning in autistic children. Early diagnosis of these language disorders is essential for early interventions for children at risk. The electrophysiological measurements are considered valuable tools for determining language disabilities in children with ASD. This study aimed to study and compare ABR and MMN in autistic children with language disorders. Methods: This study included a group of typically developing children and a group of children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders and language disorders. Both groups were matching according to age and gender. After confirming bilateral normal peripheral hearing sensitivity, ABR was done and both absolute and interpeak wave latencies were correlated. MMN using frequency oddball paradigms were also obtained and correlated. Results: More abnormalities were reported in ABR test results in the form of delayed absolute latencies and prolonged interpeak intervals. Also, we reported prolonged latencies of MMN. Consequently, both ABR and MMN are complementary test in evaluating autistic children with language disorders. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis of remarkable dysfunction in basic auditory sound processing that may impact the linguistic development of autistic children.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Versus Transcutaneous Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation in Post Stroke Dysphagia: A Clinical Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of high-frequency repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied contralesionally versus transcutaneous neuromuscular electrical stimulation (TNES) in acute post-stroke dysphagic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized, parallel, comparative, controlled trial was conducted on patients with acute ischemic stroke who were admitted to our department. Fifteen patients received rTMS, 15 patients received TNES, and 15 patients were recruited as a control group. Between the second and tenth days after a stroke, patients were enrolled. The study and follow-up periods were completed by all patients. RESULTS: Among the screened patients, 45 (31.47%) right-handed patients were diagnosed with post-stroke dysphagia with a mean age of 60.53 ± 8.23 years. Immediately after intervention both rTMS and TNES groups significantly improve the swallowing disturbance questionnaire (SDQ) and penetration aspiration scale (PAS), compared to the control (p < 0.001 and p = 0.027), respectively. rTMS was more effective than TNES in reducing SDQ and PAS (p < 0.05). rTMS and TNES improved the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale (YPRSRS) significantly (p = 0.002); however, their efficacy was comparable (p > 0.05). A significant (p < 0.001) strong negative correlation was observed between the grade of weakness and all scores. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that high-frequency rTMS and TNES effectively improved the clinical condition of acute post-stroke dysphagic patients in terms of swallowing disturbance assessed by SDQ, pharyngeal residue assessed by YPRSRS, and the severity of penetration and aspiration events evaluated by PAS, compared to the controls. The outcomes of high-frequency rTMS were more favorable than those of TNES in terms of SDQ and PAS.

Acoustic Characteristics of Voice in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

PURPOSE: To investigate the multifactorial effects of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hemodialysis (HD) on subjects' voices by examining correlations between laboratory investigations, respiratory function, and acoustic voice parameters. METHODS: This case-control study was conducted on 60 participants aged 18-50 years, divided equally into three groups: controls (no health problems or voice disorders), cCKD (stage 3-5, no HD HD]), HD, and CKD stage 5. The study took 21 months. All participants underwent general and otolaryngological examinations, followed by laboratory investigations (hemoglobin, uric acid, HCO3, estimated glomerular filtration rate, urea, urea-reduction ratio, and creatinine), respiratory function tests, and acoustic voice analysis. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the control and HD groups for jitter, shimmer, and harmonic:noise (HNR) ratio (P=0 and between the control and CKD groups for shimmer and HNR (P=0), with no significant difference between HD and CKD. There were statistically significant correlations between duration of HD and HNR, jitter percentage, and shimmer percentage (P=0. CONCLUSION: Systemic effects of CKD and HD were found to impair the acoustic characteristics of voice in both groups. Regression analysis revealed that hemoglobin, uric acid, and expiratory time were the most significant predictors of impaired acoustic characteristics.

Cortical auditory evoked potentials in children who stutter.

INTRODUCTION: It has been hypothesized that impaired auditory processing influence the occurrence of stuttering. Also, it is suggested that speech perception in children who stutter differed from normal. Auditory processing should be investigated in children who stutter shortly after the onset of stuttering in order to evaluate the extent to which impaired auditory processing contributes to the development of stuttering. CAEPs provide the necessary temporal and spatial resolution to detect differences in auditory processing and the neural activity that is related or time-locked to the auditory stimulus. The primary goal of the present study was to determine the difference in latency and amplitude of P1-N2 complex between children who stutter and non-stuttering children in response to speech stimuli. MATERIAL & METHODS: This case-control study was performed over 60children, 30were non-stuttering children (control group) and 30were children who stutter (study group) ranging in severity from Bloodstien I to Bloodstien IV in the age range of 8-18 years. RESULTS: CAEPs of children who stutter with stuttering severity Bloodstien IV showed significant prolonged latencies and reduced amplitudes when blocks and IPDs were the most predominant core behaviors. P1 and N1 were prolonged in concomitant behaviors. CONCLUSION: It could be speculated that speech processing was affected in children who stutter with stuttering severity Bloodstien IV at the level of early perceptual auditory cortex.