Pervasive developmental disorders: a hidden disability in adolescence.
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UNLABELLED: Autism is the best defined category among PDD. Its high prevalence, its onset in very young children and its persistence in adulthood arise many questions about early screening and early diagnosis. The aim of the study was to identify professional best practices about screening and diagnosis of autism in order to propose clinical guidelines and actions for the future. Scientific experts and parents take part to this procedure. Literature and previous guidelines were analyzed, experts in various fields were interviewed, a national study about the medical practices of the diagnosis of autism was made and questionnaires were send to 1600 psychiatrists and pediatricians. Guidelines built around 2 levels were proposed about screening and diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis needs a multidisciplinary approach, validated instruments and more communication between professionals and parents. Finally one of the more important aims of the diagnosis of autism is to facilitate intervention program.
Pregnant eelpout were collected for several years at German and Swedish Baltic coastal stations with different impact of pollutants and the prevalence of fry abnormalities compared between sites. Mortality of apparently normal developed larvae was observed with high variability in both German and Swedish sites. Malformation of larvae was a prominent disorder at all German stations with a prevalence ranging from about 50% up to a maximum of 90% in almost all analysed samples. At the Swedish stations malformation rates were significantly lower (range: 0-6%). Growth retardation of fry was clearly more prominent in eelpout from German coastal waters as well. Taken together the field data suggests that impaired larval development was associated with the state of environmental pollution at the sampling locations.
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In 1987, we began a longitudinal study of the offspring of alcoholic parents and have been following this group of young adults from their freshman year in college throughout their transition into later young adulthood. The goal of this review is to highlight some of the findings we consider most important and relevant to the development of pathological alcohol involvement in young adulthood. Courses of pathological alcohol involvement in young adulthood are outlined. Predictors of both the development and course of pathological alcohol use in young adulthood are also addressed, including family history of alcoholism, personality, alcohol use motivations, and role transitions. While certainly a problem in its own right, pathological alcohol involvement can also affect the attainment of important life tasks and success in various life roles. Consequently, we also examine the effects of pathological alcohol involvement on later role transitions and role attainment. Finally, prevention, policy, and treatment issues surrounding this stage of life are discussed.
A review is presented of the investigations carried out concerning the adaptive behavior of persons with the dual disability of mental retardation and autism/PDD. A close correspondence is found between the results obtained by means of a Dutch set of scales, the SRZ, SGZ, and SMZ, and those obtained by means of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Compared with matched nonautistic persons, the performance of dually disabled persons is found to be particularly poor in the domain Social Skills/Socialization and somewhat less poor in the domain Communication. Performance of the two categories does not differ in the domains Self Help/Daily Living Skills and Gross Motor Skills/Motor Skills. As a net result, persons of the dually disabled category are found to obtain comparatively low total scores for social competency, the SRZ-Total/Adaptive Behavior Composite. In addition, autistic mentally retarded persons are found to display more maladaptive behavior. For comparative studies in the mental retardation field the use of level of Self Help/Daily Living Skills and, to a lesser extent, level of Gross Motor Skills/Motor Skills are recommended as suitable matching variables.
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Repetitive thoughts and behavior are considered integral and core components of autistic disorder. Results from recent studies suggest that the types of repetitive thoughts and behavior of adults with autism and those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may be different. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs), the primary drug treatment for patients with OCD, may reduce the repetitive phenomena of some autistic patients. Two controlled studies of the nonselective SRI clomipramine have shown the drug to be more efficacious than the relatively selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor desipramine and placebo in children with autism. One controlled study of the selective SRI fluvoxamine found it to be significantly better than placebo for reducing repetitive phenomena and aggression in adults with autistic disorder. Additional research is needed.
Aggression, self-injury, and mood disturbances in persons with autistic disorders, while not uncommon, do not constitute core features of autism. Moreover, these problems can occur for a variety of reasons, which need to be assessed in order to plan appropriate and frequently combined (behavioral-pharmacological) treatments. Drugs acting primarily in the dopaminergic, serotonergic, adrenergic, opioidergic, and glutamatergic systems all have been explored in the treatment of aggression and self-injury. While no single drug or class of medication has yet emerged as consistently effective, a number of drugs appear promising. Advances in the assessment of aggressive behaviors, the identification of predictors of drug response, and additional controlled clinical drug trials specifically aimed at these target behaviors are essential in improving the approach to these problematic behaviors in the context of autistic disorder.
We reviewed pharmacological treatments used in children with autism and PDD-NOS who present with hyperactive symptoms. Some 41 studies were identified from the following drug categories: antipsychotics (n = 13), serotonin reuptake inhibitors (n = 3), antianxiety drugs (n = 4), psychostimulants (n = 10), alpha adrenergic agonists (n = 2), opiate blockers (n = 7), and other drugs (n = 2). Empirical evidence for significant reductions in hyperactive symptoms was strongest for the antipsychotics, psychostimulants, and naltrexone. Most studies have focused on the reduction of overactivity, and more emphasis needs to be placed on distractibility and attentional variables. A theoretical model was proposed in which participants' attentional performance may be used to predict clinical response to psychostimulants. More carefully controlled and comprehensive studies of hyperactivity are badly needed in these children.
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