Effect of Propranolol on Functional Connectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorder—A Pilot Study

A decrease in interaction between brain regions is observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is believed to be related to restricted neural network access in ASD. Propranolol, a beta-adrenergic antagonist, has revealed benefit during performance of tasks involving flexibility of access to networks, a benefit also seen in ASD. Our goal was to determine the effect of propranolol on functional connectivity in ASD during a verbal decision making task as compared to nadolol, thereby accounting for the potential spurious fMRI effects due to peripheral hemodynamic effects of propranolol. Ten ASD subjects underwent fMRI scans after administration of placebo, propranolol or nadolol, while performing a phonological decision making task. Comparison of functional connectivity between pre-defined ROI-pairs revealed a significant increase with propranolol compared to nadolol, suggesting a potential imaging marker for the cognitive effects of propranolol in ASD

THE ASSESSMENT OF INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUNG-CHILDREN WITH A PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER BY MEANS OF BEHAVIOR SCALES WHICH ARE DERIVED FROM DIRECT OBSERVATION

Data obtained by direct observation of 112 3-6-year-old normal children and 31 children with a pervasive developmental disorder aged 3-6 were used to construct behaviour scales by means of simultaneous component analysis. This is a technique for finding behaviour clusters (components) common to different groups by weighting the variables such that the resulting components maximize variance accounted for when summed over the groups (Milsap & Meredith, 1988, Psychometrika, 53, 123-134; Berge & Kiers, 1990, Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Psychologie, 45, 221-226). An evaluation of the component structure that was found is given for both groups. Results show uncorrelated components for the normal group, while some of the same components are intercorrelated in the clinical group. Scales were constructed which are shown to have discriminative value with respect to subgroups within the group of patients

Lack of effect of intravenous immunoglobulins on tics: A double-blind placebo-controlled study

Background: Case studies and a placebo-controlled study previously suggested the effectiveness of immunomodulatory therapy in patients with tic or related disorders whose symptoms show a relationship with streptococcal infections. No data are available on the effectiveness of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) on tic severity in unselected tic disorder patients. Method: Thirty patients with a DSM-IV tic disorder were randomly assigned to IVIG (1 g/kg on 2 consecutive days: mean age = 28.71 years; range, 14-53 years) or placebo (mean age = 30.73 years; range, 14-63 years). Symptoms were rated with the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale, the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, and the Clinical Global Impressions scale of symptom change with regard to tic severity. These were used at baseline and on weeks 2, 4, 6, 10, and 14 posttreatment, after which blinding was broken. The study was conducted from March through August 2002. Results: We observed no significant differences between both treatment groups regarding posttreatment changes in tic severity. Severity of obsessions and compulsions, which was in the subclinical range, decreased significantly in the IVIG group compared with the placebo group at week 6 (p = .02). Then, there was a 32.3% improvement in the IVIG group compared with baseline. Though this improvement was maintained over the following 8 weeks, no statistically significant differences between the IVIG and the placebo group with regard to improvements in obsessions and compulsions were detected at subsequent assessments. IVIG treatment was associated with significantly more side effects than placebo, most notably headache. Conclusion: Based on the present results, IVIG cannot be recommended in tic disorders