Biomedical subjects

Fritz Poustka

Publications and source records attributed to Fritz Poustka.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Autism spectrum disorders and low body weight: is there really a systematic association?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between autism spectrum disorders and low body weight. METHOD: The effect of maladaptive social and communicative behavior as well as stereotyped features on the normative body mass index (BMI) was analyzed in 103 subjects with autism or Asperger syndrome. Statistics were controlled for medication, neurological signs, overactivity, and general intelligence. RESULTS: Twenty-eight percent of the male individuals had a BMI in the fifth percentile or below. Except for hyperactive behavior, none of the predictors showed a significant association with BMI. None of the subjects met diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa. DISCUSSION: Although low body weight is often present in male subjects with autism or Asperger syndrome, results indicate that this link is inconsistent and partly mediated by hyperactivity. The co-occurrence of autism spectrum disorders and anorexia nervosa is probably due to chance.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The relation between general cognitive level and adaptive behavior domains in individuals with autism with and without co-morbid mental retardation.

This study examined the association between adaptive behavior and general cognitive level in individuals with autism or PDD-NOS with and without comorbid mental retardation. Data from the screening version of the Vineland Adaptive Scales and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales were analysed in a sample of 67 subjects. While in the higher functioning individuals (IQ > 70, n = 34) IQ and adaptive behavior level differed significantly, performances were fairly comparable in subjects showing lower cognitive functioning (IQ < 70, n = 33). Regression models revealed a higher correlation between IQ and single adaptive behavior domains in the non-mentally retarded participants, with the domain Communication reaching the highest predictive power of the single adaptive behavior areas. Findings indicate, the relationship between adaptive and cognitive function in autistic disorders is mediated by the presence of a qualitative reduction of intelligence. Methodological limitations of the study are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

The development and evaluation of a computer-based program to test and to teach the recognition of facial affect.

Autism is a chronic pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by the early onset of social and communicative impairments as well as restricted, ritualized, stereotypic behavior. The endophenotype of autism includes neuropsychological deficits, for instance a lack of "Theory of Mind" and problems recognizing facial affect. In this study, we report the development and evaluation of a computer-based program to teach and test the ability to identify basic facially expressed emotions. 10 adolescent or adult subjects with high-functioning autism or Asperger-syndrome were included in the investigation. A priori the facial affect recognition test had shown good psychometric properties in a normative sample (internal consistency: rtt=.91-.95; retest reliability: rtt=.89-.92). In a prepost design, one half of the sample was randomly assigned to receive computer treatment while the other half of the sample served as control group. The training was conducted for five weeks, consisting of two hours training a week. The trained individuals improved significantly on the affect recognition task, but not on any other measure. Results support the usefulness of the program to teach the detection of facial affect. However, the improvement found is limited to a circumscribed area of social-communicative function and generalization is not ensured.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

[Accumulation of abnormal psychosocial circumstances in juvenile delinquents with modified legal culpability].

The purpose of this study is to investigate specific influence on the exclupation according the medical-legal certificate approved by the courts decision. 34 culpable young offenders have been compared with 40 young delinquents who have disorders of penal responsibility according to socio-demographic, anamnestic and diagnostic variables. A significant difference between the two compared groups was found in the associated, abnormal psychosocial situations. Those delinquents who were exculpated displayed more than three times higher scores in the abnormal psychosocial axis five of ICD-10 than among the non-exculpated group. The influence of actual abnormal psychosocial situations on a substantial general psychic vulnerability is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The cognitive structure of higher functioning autism and schizophrenia: a comparative study.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether performance on a standard cognitive test-battery can be used to clearly separate higher functioning autism from schizophrenia. Revised Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R) or Adults (WAIS-R) profiles of 20 autistic and 20 schizophrenic adolescent young adult subjects matched for age, sex, and IQ level were contrasted. On average, autistic individuals had higher values on the subtest "Similarities," while schizophrenic participants scored better on "Comprehension." Discriminant analysis showed that a prognosis of the psychiatric classification can be made with 82.5% accuracy if all subscale data are considered. Even though this finding probably has limited merit for making judgements in clinical practice, it might be of exploratory value in the pursuit of differentiating autism and schizophrenia on a cognitive level.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mood changes following acute tryptophan depletion in healthy adults.

A decrease in central serotonergic activity following plasma tryptophan depletion has been shown to provoke a deterioration of mood. We studied the impact of sex and aggressive traits on mood changes following tryptophan depletion in healthy volunteers. Twelve healthy subjects (6 males, 6 females, 24-31 years), who were screened for psychiatric and non-psychiatric medical illness, were administered a tryptophan-depleting amino acid mixture (TD) and a placebo mixture on two different occasions in a double-blind crossover design. Psychometric measures included the preliminary determination of aggressive traits and depression and repeated assessments of mood and emotionality. The tryptophan-free amino acid mixture caused a marked depletion of plasma tryptophan with lowest levels occurring between 3 and 5 h after TD. Maximum changes in mood occurred about 10 h after TD, but only in high-aggressive women who scored significantly higher in arousal, anger and depressed mood, whereas low-aggressive women and men did not show any effect of TD. In addition, we could not confirm an increase in aggressive mood (anger) after TD in males with higher scores of trait aggression, presumably because the level of trait aggression was not high enough in this group. Due to the small sample size, our results that tryptophan depletion exerts a rapid mood-lowering effect on healthy women with pre-existing aggressive traits can only be seen as preliminary and have to be confirmed in further studies with larger samples.

Adult↗