ABSTRACT
Fenfluramine was administered to eight autistic outpatients in a double-blind study to determine its effects on symptomatic behavior, developmental scores, blood serotonin levels and platelet counts. Two children benefited substantially according to academic and cognitive tests, parental and teacher reports and the principal investigator's clinical impressions. They also manifested behavioral and mood swings. The remaining six children showed varying degrees of response; one was withdrawn during the study by his parents. The greatest improvement occurred in children with an IQ above 40; the more severely retarded improved little, and primarily in the motor sphere.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/drug therapy , Fenfluramine/therapeutic use , Adolescent , Autistic Disorder/etiology , Child , Child, Preschool , Double-Blind Method , Female , Fenfluramine/adverse effects , Fenfluramine/pharmacology , Humans , Intelligence/drug effects , Male , Motor Activity/drug effects , Platelet Count/drug effects , Serotonin/bloodABSTRACT
Two cases of congenital cytomegalovirus infection associated with autism are reported. The viral hypothesis of autism is discussed along with a brief review of the literature. Suggestions are made for future research.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/etiology , Cytomegalovirus Infections/congenital , Adoption , Child Development , Child, Preschool , Cytomegalovirus Infections/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Infant , MaleABSTRACT
Previous studies have implicated a brainstem dysfunction in the syndrome of autism. This study matched six autistic children with six normal children by age and sex to evaluate brainstem evoked response (BSER) to auditory stimuli. An evaluation of pure tone audiometric threshold showed no evidence of impairment; however, the electrophysiologic responses differed for the autistic and control groups. The BSER of the autistic children was remarkable for showing increased latency and markedly increased variability. The findings from this study add additional evidence of a brainstem dysfunction in autistic children, while the electrophysiologic variability supports the hypothesis of perceptual inconstancy.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/physiopathology , Brain Stem/physiopathology , Evoked Potentials, Auditory , Adolescent , Audiometry, Evoked Response , Auditory Threshold/physiology , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Reaction Time/physiologyABSTRACT
The authors, along with other investigators, postulate that viruses may be one of the causes of the syndrome of autism. Many diseases, especially those where a viral infection and autoimmunity is suspected, are being studied to determine whether an association with histocompatibility antigens (human leukocyte antigens--HLA) exists. The authors studied HLA in autism to see if a relationship exists. Twenty autistic children and their parents were HLA typed. The control group consisted of 575 potential donors for renal transplantation, 134 healthy subjects, and 48 persons of different families who married into one large family that had been HLA typed. The control subjects were from the same geographical area as the experimental subjects. Subjects were typed by a modification of the microlymphocytotoxicity tests of Terasaki and McCleland (1964). HLA-A2 was increased when compared to geographical controls, chi 2 = 5.020, p less than .05, and when compared to controls from the literature, chi 2 = 3.88, p less than .05. However, when chi 2 is corrected for the number of antigen specificities, significance is lost. No antigen was significantly increased in the mothers. HLA-A10 was significantly increased in the fathers, chi 2 = 5.947, p less than .02; however, significance did not remain after correction for the number of antigen specificities. These negative findings do not disprove an association because the numbers are so small. This small sample needs to be enlarged and replicated locally as well as in other geographical areas.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/genetics , HLA Antigens/genetics , Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Gene Frequency , HLA-A Antigens , HLA-B Antigens , Humans , Male , PhenotypeABSTRACT
A case of intrauterine cytomegalovirus infection with onset of autistic symptoms apparently after 6 months of age is reported. Physicians who find autistic symptoms in very young children might include cytomegalovirus in their differential to document the presence or absence of a correlation.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/complications , Cytomegalovirus Infections/complications , Autistic Disorder/urine , Cytomegalovirus Infections/urine , Humans , Infant , MaleABSTRACT
Although there are associations linking autism with prenatal rubella, cytomegalovirus, syphilis, and varicella, the etiology of the autistic state remains obscure. Host defense against the etiologic agents postulated to be responsible for the autism-associated syndromes is believed to be primarily of the cell-mediated type. In this preliminary study, cellular immune function was assessed in vitro by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation of lymphocyte cultures. Twelve autistic children and 13 control subjects were compared. The autistic group exhibited a depressed lymphocyte transformation response to PHA when compared to the control subjects (p less than .01).
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/immunology , Lymphocyte Activation , T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Immunity, Cellular , In Vitro Techniques , Lectins/pharmacology , Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed , Male , Mitogens/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Urines from 19 autistic children (3 female, 16 male) were analyzed by high-resolution, high-pressure anion-exchange chromatography. The results showed abnormalities in the excretion of hippuric acid, 4-hydroxyhippuric acid, and N1-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide, the end product of the nicotinic acid pathway. Considerations as the metabolic origin on the 4-hydroxyhippuric acid are discussed and related to the possibility of bacterial action and malabsorption.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/urine , Hippurates/urine , Autistic Disorder/drug therapy , Bacteria/metabolism , Child , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid , Chromatography, Ion Exchange , Digestive System/microbiology , Female , Humans , Malabsorption Syndromes/urine , Male , Nicotinic Acids/metabolism , Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet , Toxins, Biological/biosynthesis , Vitamins/therapeutic useABSTRACT
The etiology of autism is unknown, but autism has been associated with a number of diseases, including prenatal rubella. Rubella vaccine challenge was used in an attempt to retrospectively diagnose prenatal rubella in autistic children. This test was selected because unresponsiveness of antibody titer has been reported as helpful in retrospective diagnosing of prenatal rubella. Fifteen autistic children and 8 controls matched for age were challenged with rubella vaccine. Rubella vaccine challenge did not differentiate autistic children from the control subjects. However, 5 of 13 autistic children had undetectable titers despite previous vaccine; all control subjects had detectable titers. This finding of undetectable titers in autistic children suggests these children may have an altered immune response.
