Foetal testosterone and autistic traits in 18 to 24-month-old children.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum conditions have been characterised as an extreme presentation of certain male-typical psychological traits. In addition, several studies have established a link between prenatal exposure to testosterone and cognitive sex differences in later life, and one study found that foetal testosterone (FT) is positively correlated to autistic traits in 6 to 10 year-old children. In this study, we tested whether FT is positively correlated with autistic traits in toddlers aged 18-24 months. METHODS: Levels of FT were analysed in amniotic fluid and compared with autistic traits, measured using the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT) in 129 typically developing toddlers aged between 18 and 24 months (mean +/- SD 19.25 +/- 1.52 months). RESULTS: Sex differences were observed in Q-CHAT scores, with boys scoring significantly higher (indicating more autistic traits) than girls. In addition, we confirmed a significant positive relationship between FT levels and autistic traits. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings in children between 18 and 24 months of age are consistent with observations in older children showing a positive association between elevated FT levels and autistic traits. Given that sex steroid-related gene variations are associated with autistic traits in adults, this new finding suggests that the brain basis of autistic traits may reflect individual differences in prenatal androgens and androgen-related genes. The consistency of findings in early childhood, later childhood and adulthood suggests that this is a robust association.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Prenatal versus postnatal sex steroid hormone effects on autistic traits in children at 18 to 24 months of age.

BACKGROUND: Studies of prenatal exposure to sex steroid hormones predict autistic traits in children at 18 to 24 and at 96 months of age. However, it is not known whether postnatal exposure to these hormones has a similar effect. This study compares prenatal and postnatal sex steroid hormone levels in relation to autistic traits in 18 to 24-month-old children.Fetal testosterone (fT) and fetal estradiol (fE) levels were measured in amniotic fluid from pregnant women (n = 35) following routine second-trimester amniocentesis. Saliva samples were collected from these children when they reached three to four months of age and were analyzed for postnatal testosterone (pT) levels. Mothers were asked to complete the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT), a measure of autistic traits in children 18 to 24 months old. FINDING: fT (but not pT) levels were positively associated with scores on the Q-CHAT. fE and pT levels showed no sex differences and no relationships with fT levels. fT levels were the only variable that predicted Q-CHAT scores. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings are consistent with the hypothesis that prenatal (but not postnatal) androgen exposure, coinciding with the critical period for sexual differentiation of the brain, is associated with the development of autistic traits in 18 to 24 month old toddlers. However, it is recognized that further work with a larger sample population is needed before the effects of postnatal androgen exposure on autistic traits can be ruled out. These results are also in line with the fetal androgen theory of autism, which suggests that prenatal, organizational effects of androgen hormones influence the development of autistic traits in later life.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Chiral Extrapolation: An Analogy with Effective Field Theory

We draw an analogy between the chiral extrapolation of lattice QCD calculations from large to small quark masses and the interpolation between the large mass (weak field) and small mass (strong field) limits of the Euler--Heisenberg QED effective action. In the latter case, where the exact answer is known, a simple extrapolation of a form analogous to those proposed for the QCD applications is shown to be surprisingly accurate over the entire parameter range.Comment: 6 pp, revtex, 3 figs; minor changes -- version to appear in PL

Sexual Transmission of XMRV: A Potential Infection Route

Although XMRV dissemination in humans is a matter of debate, the prostate of select patients seem to harbor XMRV, which raises questions about its potential route of transmission. We established a model of infection in rhesus macaques inoculated with XMRV. In spite of the intravenous inoculation, all infected macaques exhibited readily detectable XMRV signal in the reproductive tract of all 4 males and 1 female during both acute and chronic infection stages. XMRV showed explosive growth in the acini of prostate during acute but not chronic infection. In seminal vesicles, epididymis, and testes, XMRV protein production was detected throughout infection in interstitial or epithelial cells. In the female monkey, epithelial cells in the cervix and vagina were also positive for XMRV gag. The ready detection of XMRV in the reproductive tract of male and female macaques infected intravenously suggests the potential for sexual transmission for XMRV

Characterization of antibodies elicited by XMRV infection and development of immunoassays useful for epidemiologic studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-related Virus (XMRV) is a human gammaretrovirus recently identified in prostate cancer tissue and in lymphocytes of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. To establish the etiologic role of XMRV infection in human disease requires large scale epidemiologic studies. Development of assays to detect XMRV-specific antibodies would greatly facilitate such studies. However, the nature and kinetics of the antibody response to XMRV infection have yet to be determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three rhesus macaques were infected with XMRV to determine the dynamics of the antibody responses elicited by infection with XMRV. All macaques developed antibodies to XMRV during the second week of infection, and the predominant responses were to the envelope protein gp70, transmembrane protein p15E, and capsid protein p30. In general, antibody responses to gp70 and p15E appeared early with higher titers than to p30, especially in the early period of seroconversion. Antibodies to gp70, p15E and p30 persisted to 158 days and were substantially boosted by re-infection, thus, were identified as useful serologic markers. Three high-throughput prototype assays were developed using recombinant proteins to detect antibodies to these viral proteins. Both gp70 and p15E prototype assays demonstrated 100% sensitivity by detecting all Western blot (WB) positive serial bleeds from the XMRV-infected macaques and good specificity (99.5-99.9%) with blood donors. Seroconversion sensitivity and specificity of the p30 prototype assay were 92% and 99.4% respectively.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study provides the first demonstration of seroconversion patterns elicited by XMRV infection. The nature and kinetics of antibody responses to XMRV in primates were fully characterized. Moreover, key serologic markers useful for detection of XMRV infection were identified. Three prototype immunoassays were developed to detect XMRV-specific antibodies. These assays demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity; thus, they will facilitate large scale epidemiologic studies of XMRV infection in humans.</p

Fetal Testosterone Predicts Sexually Differentiated Childhood Behavior in Girls and in Boys

ABSTRACT—Mammals, including humans, show sex differences in juvenile play behavior. In rodents and nonhuman primates, these behavioral sex differences result, in part, from sex differences in androgens during early development. Girls exposed to high levels of androgen prenatally, because of the genetic disorder congenital adrenal hyperplasia, show increased male-typical play, suggesting similar hormonal influences on human development, at least in females. Here, we report that fetal testosterone measured from amniotic fluid relates positively to male-typical scores on a standardized questionnaire measure of sextypical play in both boys and girls. These results show, for the first time, a link between fetal testosterone and the development of sex-typical play in children from the general population, and are the first data linking high levels of prenatal testosterone to increased male-typical play behavior in boys. Sexual differentiation of the mammalian brain occurs under the control of gonadal hormones, particularly androgens, during early development (De Vries &amp; Simerly, 2002; Ehrhardt &amp

Perspectives of people with late age-related macular degeneration on mental health and mental wellbeing programmes: a qualitative study

People with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) experience high rates of depression, but rarely engage in or have access to tailored mental wellbeing programmes. This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of those primarily with late AMD on mental health and mental wellbeing programmes. Twenty-eight people with late AMD in at least one eye, and one person with early AMD in both eyes, aged 56-87 years (mean age 78 years) attending a private eye clinic between December 2019 and January 2020 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, participated. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed deductively using content analysis, following the individual level factors for health promotion interventions in the behaviour change wheel: Capability (Physical & Psychological), Opportunity (Physical & Social), and Motivation (Reflective & Automatic). Six major themes were identified: Capability: (1) Impact of vision loss on mobility and leisure pursuits; (2) Adjustment to living with vision loss; Opportunity: (3) Program considerations for those with AMD; (4) Stigma and self-perception of vision loss and mental health; Motivation: (5) Accumulation of vision-related issues as a barrier to participation; (6) Examples of others living with vision loss. General personal factors relevant to delivery of a programme in this age group were also identified: Comorbidities; Limitations using technology; Isolation; Financial concerns and Beliefs that undesired effects of aging are inevitable. Complex individual, environmental and social factors influence the perspectives of people with late AMD on mental health, and potential participation in mental wellbeing programmes. These factors should be considered when developing and implementing mental wellbeing programmes to improve the emotional and functional rehabilitation outcomes for people with AMD. [Abstract copyright: © 2020 The Authors Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics © 2020 The College of Optometrists.