How Prevalent Are Autistic Traits Among Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? A Qualitative Review of the Literature

Twin, family, and linkage studies have indicated that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) share a portion of their heritable etiology. This suggests that individuals with ADHD may manifest different forms of ASDs that may range from fully developed syndromic forms of the disorder to milder manifestations of ASD symptomatology, which will henceforth be referred to as autistic traits.The main purpose of this study was to conduct a literature search to examine the current body of knowledge regarding the prevalence of autistic traits (operationalized as the presence of autistic symptoms in the absence of a diagnosis of ASD) among children with ADHD and the associated morbidity of such traits.A systematic literature search in PubMed was conducted to discover all controlled studies published in the English language that systematically assessed the presence of autistic traits in children with ADHD who did not meet the criteria for ASDs. Three articles met our inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in this qualitative review.Only three scientific papers that met our a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified. These articles described findings obtained from clinical samples and identified a prevalence of autistic traits among children with ADHD that ranged from 7% to 60%. As compared with children with ADHD without these traits, the presence of autistic traits in children with ADHD was associated with more severe dysfunction in a wide range of non-overlapping domains and in the social and communication domains in particular.Although this study was limited by the small amount of available literature about this subject, these findings suggest that a sizeable subset of children with ADHD manifest autistic traits and that the presence of these traits is associated with increased dysfunction and social and communication deficits

Prenatal and Postnatal Cardiac Development in Offspring of Hypertensive Pregnancies.

Background Pregnancy complications such as preterm birth and fetal growth restriction are associated with altered prenatal and postnatal cardiac development. We studied whether there were changes related specifically to pregnancy hypertension. Methods and Results Left and right ventricular volumes, mass, and function were assessed at birth and 3 months of age by echocardiography in 134 term-born infants. Fifty-four had been born to mothers who had normotensive pregnancy and 80 had a diagnosis of preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension. Differences between groups were interpreted, taking into account severity of pregnancy disorder, sex, body size, and blood pressure. Left and right ventricular mass indexed to body surface area (LVMI and RVMI) were similar in both groups at birth (LVMI 20.9±3.7 versus 20.6±4.0 g/m2, P=0.64, RVMI 17.5±3.7 versus 18.1±4.7 g/m2, P=0.57). However, right ventricular end diastolic volume index was significantly smaller in those born to hypertensive pregnancy (16.8±5.3 versus 12.7±4.7 mL/m2, P=0.001), persisting at 3 months of age (16.4±3.2 versus 14.4±4.8 mL/m2, P=0.04). By 3 months of age these infants also had significantly greater LVMI and RVMI (LVMI 24.9±4.6 versus 26.8±4.9 g/m2, P=0.04; RVMI 17.1±4.2 versus 21.1±3.9 g/m2, P<0.001). Differences in RVMI and right ventricular end diastolic volume index at 3 months, but not left ventricular measures, correlated with severity of the hypertensive disorder. No differences in systolic or diastolic function were evident. Conclusions Infants born at term to a hypertensive pregnancy have evidence of both prenatal and postnatal differences in cardiac development, with right ventricular changes proportional to the severity of the pregnancy disorder. Whether differences persist long term as well as their underlying cause and relationship to increased cardiovascular risk requires further study

Disproportionate cardiac hypertrophy during early postnatal development in infants born preterm.

Background Adults born very preterm have increased cardiac mass and reduced function. We investigated whether a hypertrophic phenomenon occurs in later preterm infants and when this occurs during early development. Methods Cardiac ultrasound was performed on 392 infants (33% preterm at mean gestation 34±2 weeks). Scans were performed during fetal development in 137, at birth and 3 months of postnatal age in 200, and during both fetal and postnatal development in 55. Cardiac morphology and function was quantified and computational models created to identify geometric changes. Results At birth, preterm offspring had reduced cardiac mass and volume relative to body size with a more globular heart. By 3 months, ventricular shape had normalized but both left and right ventricular mass relative to body size were significantly higher than expected for postmenstrual age (left 57.8±41.9 vs. 27.3±29.4%, P<0.001; right 39.3±38.1 vs. 16.6±40.8, P=0.002). Greater changes were associated with lower gestational age at birth (left P<0.001; right P=0.001). Conclusion Preterm offspring, including those born in late gestation, have a disproportionate increase in ventricular mass from birth up to 3 months of postnatal age. These differences were not present before birth. Early postnatal development may provide a window for interventions relevant to long-term cardiovascular health

Effect of moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise on blood pressure in young adults : the TEPHRA open, two-arm, parallel superiority randomized clinical trial

Background Exercise is advised for young adults with elevated blood pressure, but no trials have investigated efficacy at this age. We aimed to determine whether aerobic exercise, self-monitoring and motivational coaching lowers blood pressure in this group. Methods The study was a single-centre, open, two-arm, parallel superiority randomized clinical trial with open community-based recruitment of physically-inactive 18–35 year old adults with awake 24 h blood pressure 115/75mmHg-159/99 mmHg and BMI37 weeks) to the intervention group, who received 16-weeks aerobic exercise training (three aerobic training sessions per week of 60 min per session at 60–80% peak heart rate, physical activity self-monitoring with encouragement to do 10,000 steps per day and motivational coaching to maintain physical activity upon completion of the intervention. The control group were sign-posted to educational materials on hypertension and recommended lifestyle behaviours. Investigators performing statistical analyses were blinded to group allocation. The primary outcome was 24 h awake ambulatory blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) change from baseline to 16-weeks on an intention-to-treat basis. Clinicaltrials.gov registered on March 30, 2016 (NCT02723552). Findings Enrolment occurred between 30/06/2016-26/10/2018. Amongst the 203 randomized young adults (n = 102 in the intervention group; n = 101 in the control group), 178 (88%; n = 76 intervention group, n = 84 control group) completed 16-week follow-up and 160 (79%; n = 68 intervention group, n = 69 control group) completed 52-weeks follow-up. There were no group differences in awake systolic (0·0 mmHg [95%CI, -2·9 to 2·8]; P = 0·98) or awake diastolic ambulatory blood pressure (0·6 mmHg [95%CI, -1·4. to 2·6]; P = 0·58). Aerobic training increased peak oxygen uptake (2·8 ml/kg/min [95%CI, 1·6 to 4·0]) and peak wattage (14·2watts [95%CI, 7·6 to 20·9]) at 16-weeks. There were no intervention effects at 52-weeks follow-up. Intepretation These results do not support the exclusive use of moderate to high intensity aerobic exercise training for blood pressure control in young adults. Funding Wellcome Trust, British Heart Foundation, National Institute for Health Research, Oxford Biomedical Research Centre

How Prevalent Are Autistic Traits Among Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? A Qualitative Review of the Literature

Background: Twin, family, and linkage studies have indicated that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) share a portion of their heritable etiology. This suggests that individuals with ADHD may manifest different forms of ASDs that may range from fully developed syndromic forms of the disorder to milder manifestations of ASD symptomatology, which will henceforth be referred to as autistic traits

Clinical Implications of the NICE 2015 Criteria for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Background: In response to concerns that the International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group (IADPSG) criteria labeled too many women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) without evidence of clinical or economic benefit, NICE recommended a change in diagnostic criteria in 2015. Aim: To compare diabetes associated maternal and neonatal complications in pregnancies complicated by GDM diagnosed using IADPSG criteria only, to those with GDM diagnosed using both IADPSG and NICE 2015 criteria. GDM screening was risk factor based. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a trial of women with GDM diagnosed by the IADPSG criteria (fasting blood glucose (BG) &ge; 5.1 mmol/L, 1 h &ge; 10.0 mmol/L and 2 h &ge; 8.5 mmol/L). Outcomes were compared for two groups: NICE + IADPSG defined as those with GDM diagnosed by both the NICE 2015 and IADPSG criteria (fasting BG &ge; 5.6 mmol/L, 2 h &ge; 8.5 mmol/L); and IADPSG-ONLY (fasting BG 5.1 mmol/L to 5.5 mmol/L, and/or 1-hour &ge;10.0 mmol/L, and 2 h &ge; 8.5 mmol/L). We were not able to obtain data for women with a 2-h value between BG 7.8&ndash;8.4 mmol/L (i.e., NICE-ONLY; NICE 2015 positive and IADPSG negative). All women were treated for GDM using targets of fasting BG &lt; 5.3 mmol/L and 1-h post prandial BG &lt; 7.8 mmol/L respectively. Results: Of 159 women, 65 (40.9%) were NICE + IADPSG and 94 (59.1%) IADPSG-ONLY. Hypoglycaemic medication use was similar in both groups: 52.3% NICE + IADPSG, 46.8% IADPSG-ONLY, OR 1.0 (0.5&ndash;1.9). The IADPSG-ONLY group delivered later than the NICE + IADPSG group; 39.0 weeks (sd 1.4) compared to 38.2 weeks (sd 2.5), p value 0.02. Fewer caesarean sections occurred in IADPSG-ONLY group 30.9% vs. 52.3%, OR 0.4 (0.2&ndash;0.9). Birthweight, large for gestational age, and other neonatal complications were not significantly different between groups. Conclusions: Gestational diabetes-associated perinatal complications were similar in both groups. The IADPSG criteria detect women with evidence of ongoing hyperglycaemia who may benefit from treatment during pregnancy

Lipid sorting by ceramide structure from plasma membrane to ER for the cholera toxin receptor ganglioside GM1.

The glycosphingolipid GM1 binds cholera toxin (CT) on host cells and carries it retrograde from the plasma membrane (PM) through endosomes, the trans-Golgi (TGN), and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to induce toxicity. To elucidate how a membrane lipid can specify trafficking in these pathways, we synthesized GM1 isoforms with alternate ceramide domains and imaged their trafficking in live cells. Only GM1 with unsaturated acyl chains sorted efficiently from PM to TGN and ER. Toxin binding, which effectively crosslinks GM1 lipids, was dispensable, but membrane cholesterol and the lipid raft-associated proteins actin and flotillin were required. The results implicate a protein-dependent mechanism of lipid sorting by ceramide structure and provide a molecular explanation for the diversity and specificity of retrograde trafficking by CT in host cells