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Nutrients Jul 2019Preconception and prenatal nutrition is critical for fetal brain development. However, its associations with offspring neurodevelopmental disorders are not well... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Preconception and prenatal nutrition is critical for fetal brain development. However, its associations with offspring neurodevelopmental disorders are not well understood. This study aims to systematically review the associations of preconception and prenatal nutrition with offspring risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. We searched the PubMed and Embase for articles published through March 2019. Nutritional exposures included nutrient intake or status, food intake, or dietary patterns. Neurodevelopmental outcomes included autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit disorder-hyperactivity (ADHD) and intellectual disabilities. A total of 2169 articles were screened, and 20 articles on ASD and 17 on ADHD were eventually reviewed. We found an overall inverse association between maternal folic acid or multivitamin supplementation and children's risk of ASD; a meta-analysis including six prospective cohort studies estimated an RR of ASD of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.46, 0.90). Data on associations of other dietary factors and ASD, ADHD and related outcomes were inconclusive and warrant future investigation. Future studies should integrate comprehensive and more objective methods to quantify the nutritional exposures and explore alternative study design such as Mendelian randomization to evaluate potential causal effects.
Topics: Female; Fetal Development; Humans; Infant; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 31319515
DOI: 10.3390/nu11071628 -
The American Journal of Psychiatry Jan 2023The aim of this study was to catalog and evaluate response biomarkers correlated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms to improve clinical trials. (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to catalog and evaluate response biomarkers correlated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms to improve clinical trials.
METHODS
A systematic review of MEDLINE, Embase, and Scopus was conducted in April 2020. Seven criteria were applied to focus on original research that includes quantifiable response biomarkers measured alongside ASD symptoms. Interventional studies or human studies that assessed the correlation between biomarkers and ASD-related behavioral measures were included.
RESULTS
A total of 5,799 independent records yielded 280 articles for review that reported on 940 biomarkers, 755 of which were unique to a single publication. Molecular biomarkers were the most frequently assayed, including cytokines, growth factors, measures of oxidative stress, neurotransmitters, and hormones, followed by neurophysiology (e.g., EEG and eye tracking), neuroimaging (e.g., functional MRI), and other physiological measures. Studies were highly heterogeneous, including in phenotypes, demographic characteristics, tissues assayed, and methods for biomarker detection. With a median total sample size of 64, almost all of the reviewed studies were only powered to identify biomarkers with large effect sizes. Reporting of individual-level values and summary statistics was inconsistent, hampering mega- and meta-analysis. Biomarkers assayed in multiple studies yielded mostly inconsistent results, revealing a "replication crisis."
CONCLUSIONS
There is currently no response biomarker with sufficient evidence to inform ASD clinical trials. This review highlights methodological imperatives for ASD biomarker research necessary to make definitive progress: consistent experimental design, correction for multiple comparisons, formal replication, sharing of sample-level data, and preregistration of study designs. Systematic "big data" analyses of multiple potential biomarkers could accelerate discovery.
Topics: Humans; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Biomarkers; Phenotype; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Research Design
PubMed: 36475375
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.21100992 -
Cureus Jul 2022The purpose of this study is to review the published papers investigating maternal acetaminophen (AP) use during pregnancy and its effect on the offspring's... (Review)
Review
The purpose of this study is to review the published papers investigating maternal acetaminophen (AP) use during pregnancy and its effect on the offspring's neurodevelopment, particularly autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Acetaminophen is an over-the-counter analgesic and antipyretic considered safe in pregnancy. Recent studies have found an association between acetaminophen and immune system alterations like asthma and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. We used online databases (PubMed/Medline/PubMed Central, Science Direct, and Google Scholar) to search the studies relevant to our topic. We screened the papers by titles, abstracts, and then full-text availability. The screened articles were checked for eligibility using relevant quality assessment tools for each study design, extracting and analyzing the data. We finalized 30 studies after the screening; 14 were ineligible. Our final selection included 16 high-quality papers - 13 prospective cohort studies, two review articles, and one meta-analysis. We found a wide range of neurodevelopmental outcomes in our data collection. So, we included autism spectrum disorders, intelligent quotient (IQ), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), isolated language, attention and executive function, communication, behavior, and psychomotor development. All studies showed an association between acetaminophen use and listed neurodevelopmental outcomes. Long-term use, increased dose, and frequency were associated with a stronger association. We extracted collective evidence from 16 studies suggesting acetaminophen's role in developing adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. It is urgent to do more research on this association before pregnant women can be cautioned about the precise use of acetaminophen.
PubMed: 35989852
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.26995 -
European Psychiatry : the Journal of... Dec 2021Catatonic features can appear in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). There can be overlap in symptoms across catatonia and ASD. The overall aim of this review is to... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Catatonic features can appear in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). There can be overlap in symptoms across catatonia and ASD. The overall aim of this review is to provide evidence for the presence of catatonic features in subjects with ASD.
METHODS
A systematic literature search using the Web of Science database from inception to July 10, 2021 was conducted following PRISMA, MOOSE guidelines and the PROSPERO protocol. (CRD42021248615). Twelve studies with information about catatonia and ASD were reviewed. Data from a subset was used to conduct meta-analyses of the presence of catatonia in ASD.
RESULTS
The systematic review included 12 studies, seven of which were used for the meta-analysis, comprising 969 individuals. The mean age was 21.25 (7.5) years. Two studies (16.6%) included only children and adolescents. A total of 70-100% were males. Our meta-analysis showed that 10.4% (5.8-18.0 95%CI) of individuals with ASD have catatonia. Motor disturbances were common in ASD subjects with catatonia. No differences were found in comorbidity. Several treatments have been used in ASD with catatonic features, including benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The findings of the systematic review showed that ECT might help manage catatonic symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS
Different features of catatonia can exist in individuals with ASD and core symptoms of catatonia are reported in ASD. Longitudinal and longer-term studies are required to understand the relationship between catatonia and ASD, and the response of catatonic symptoms to treatment.
Topics: Adolescent; Antipsychotic Agents; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Benzodiazepines; Catatonia; Electroconvulsive Therapy; Humans; Male
PubMed: 34906264
DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.2259 -
International Journal of Environmental... Nov 2022Animal-assisted therapy has become a fast-growing and effective approach for remediating core impairments of children with ASD; however, recent systematic review studies... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Animal-assisted therapy has become a fast-growing and effective approach for remediating core impairments of children with ASD; however, recent systematic review studies on the effects of AAT in children with ASD have some limitations, including referral to a variety of animal-assisted interventions rather than to horseback-riding therapy alone and the absence of any meta-analysis in systematic reviews. A complete systematic review of the studies that describe the use of THR as an intervention is needed to specifically target the core impairments of children with ASD. The purpose of this study was to employ the systematic review method to synthesize research findings regarding the effects of THR programs on the social interaction and communication skills of children with ASD. We conducted a structured search in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched for potentially relevant studies in five databases (Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus) from inception until February 2022. In addition, we manually searched the bibliographies of the included studies to find articles that might otherwise have been missed. We considered articles eligible or ineligible if they satisfied specific inclusion or exclusion criteria. Our results showed that the THR program is an effective direct and alternative therapeutic program that can considerably improve the social behaviors and communication skills of children with ASD and can effectively impact autistic impairments in areas such as social awareness, social cognition, social motivation, and social communication. These findings are in line with those of previous studies; however, we did not find statistical evidence of any effect of THR on the autistic behaviors of irritability, stereotypy, and inappropriate speech. In conclusion, the findings produced by this meta-analysis study provide evidence that THR programs can considerably improve the social behaviors and communication skills of children with ASD.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Animal Assisted Therapy; Autistic Disorder; Social Behavior; Communication
PubMed: 36361327
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192114449 -
Cureus Jul 2020Marijuana is one of the most abused substances in the world. Marijuana is getting legalized around the world. So, it is crucial to understand its effect on our mental... (Review)
Review
Marijuana is one of the most abused substances in the world. Marijuana is getting legalized around the world. So, it is crucial to understand its effect on our mental health. Its impact on the schizophrenia spectrum needs our special attention. Even though marijuana has been around for a long time, its exact effects are still unknown. Schizophrenia is a chronic illness affecting approximately 20 million people worldwide. Schizophrenia and cannabis seem to have a close relationship, and we want to explore this. We want to know if marijuana is causing, exacerbating, or treating schizophrenia. This systematic review explores this question. We searched online resources like PubMed, PubMed Central, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar for systematic reviews, traditional reviews, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analysis on cannabis and schizophrenia/ psychosis. We included human studies published in peer-reviewed journals in the English language in the last five years. After reviewing 96 initial results of our search, we excluded 25 duplicates, 29 abstracts, and 18 irrelevant articles. We did a quality assessment for the remaining 24 studies using various quality assessment tools. After the quality assessment, we found 12 articles were of low quality and excluded those. We included the remaining 12 final studies in our systematic review. Out of these 12 studies, five were traditional reviews, two systematic reviews, two meta-analysis, and three observational studies. Six of the articles were on cannabis's effect on just schizophrenia or psychotic disorder. The other six included schizophrenia plus other psychiatric or neurological illnesses. Ten of the studies had data supporting the causative link between cannabis and schizophrenia. Eight records had data supporting the exacerbating effect of marijuana. Six studies had data supporting the therapeutic effect of the cannabidiol (CBD) component of cannabis. From the current data, we can conclude that the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) component of cannabis can be the main culprit causing psychosis and schizophrenia in the at-risk population. THC can also be the one exacerbating symptoms and causing an adverse prognosis in already diagnosed patients. Even though CBD shows therapeutic effects and THC opposing effects, the data is minimal and low safety and efficacy warrants more research. The relation between cannabis and schizophrenia needs further investigation. We need more case-control studies and clinical trials with a larger population to get conclusive data.
PubMed: 32839678
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.9309 -
Nutrients Mar 2020Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a public health problem and has a prevalence of 0.6%-1.7% in children. As well as psychiatric symptoms, dysbiosis and gastrointestinal... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a public health problem and has a prevalence of 0.6%-1.7% in children. As well as psychiatric symptoms, dysbiosis and gastrointestinal comorbidities are also frequently reported. The gut-brain microbiota axis suggests that there is a form of communication between microbiota and the brain underlying some neurological disabilities. The aim of this study is to describe and compare the composition of gut microbiota in children with and without ASD.
METHODS
Electronic databases were searched as far as February 2020. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan5.3 to estimate the overall relative abundance of gut bacteria belonging to 8 phyla and 17 genera in children with ASD and controls.
RESULTS
We included 18 studies assessing a total of 493 ASD children and 404 controls. The microbiota was mainly composed of the phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria, all of which were more abundant in the ASD children than in the controls. Children with ASD showed a significantly higher abundance of the genera , , , and and a lower percentage of and .
DISCUSSION
This meta-analysis suggests that there is a dysbiosis in ASD children which may influence the development and severity of ASD symptomatology. Further studies are required in order to obtain stronger evidence of the effectiveness of pre- or probiotics in reducing autistic behaviors.
Topics: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Bacteria; Child; Dysbiosis; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Male
PubMed: 32192218
DOI: 10.3390/nu12030792 -
Epilepsia Jan 2021Clinical genetic sequencing is frequently utilized to diagnose individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Here we perform a meta-analysis and systematic... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
OBJECTIVE
Clinical genetic sequencing is frequently utilized to diagnose individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Here we perform a meta-analysis and systematic review of the success rate (diagnostic yield) of clinical sequencing through next-generation sequencing (NGS) across NDDs. We compare the genetic testing yield across NDD subtypes and sequencing technology.
METHODS
We performed a systematic review of the PubMed literature until May 2020. We included clinical sequencing studies that utilized NGS in individuals with epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or intellectual disability (ID). Data were extracted, reviewed, and categorized according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Two investigators performed clinical evaluation and grouping following the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) guidelines. Pooled rates of the diagnostic yield and 95% confidence intervals were estimated with a random-effects model.
RESULTS
We identified 103 studies (epilepsy, N = 72; ASD, N = 14; ID, N = 21) across 32,331 individuals. Targeted gene panel sequencing was used in 73, and exome sequencing in 36 cohorts. Given highly selected patient cohorts, the diagnostic yield was 17.1% for ASD, 24% for epilepsy, and 28.2% for ID (23.7% overall). The highest diagnostic yield for epilepsy subtypes was observed in individuals with ID (27.9%) and early onset seizures (36.8%). The diagnostic yield for exome sequencing was higher than for panel sequencing, even though not statistically significant (27.2% vs 22.6%, P = .071). We observed that clinical sequencing studies are performed predominantly in countries with a high Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) (countries with sequencing studies: IHDI median = 0.84, interquartile range [IQR] = 0.09 vs countries without sequencing studies: IHDI median = 0.56, IQR = 0.3). No studies from Africa, India, or Latin America were identified, indicating potential barriers to genetic testing.
SIGNIFICANCE
This meta-analysis and systematic review provides a comprehensive overview of clinical sequencing studies of NDDs and will help guide policymaking and steer decision-making in patient management.
Topics: Age of Onset; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Epilepsy; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Humans; Intellectual Disability; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Exome Sequencing
PubMed: 33200402
DOI: 10.1111/epi.16755 -
Effects of Physical Exercise on the Stereotyped Behavior of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Oct 2019: Recent studies have shown the existence of a positive relationship between physical exercise, symptomatic improvement, and reduction of damage caused by comorbidities... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
: Recent studies have shown the existence of a positive relationship between physical exercise, symptomatic improvement, and reduction of damage caused by comorbidities associated with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in children, adolescents, and adults. The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis (SRM) was to estimate the effects of physical exercise (PE) on the stereotyped behaviors of children with a diagnosis of ASD in intervention studies. : The design followed the PRISMA guidelines and the TREND statement to assess the quality of information in each study. Nine non-randomized intervention trial studies with low, moderate, and vigorous physical exercise, with a duration varying from 8 to 48 weeks and a frequency of 3 times a week, were included in the SRM. The dependent variable episodes of stereotypical behaviors was analyzed in all studies and assessed as the number of episodes demonstrated by the child in pre- versus post-exercise intervention conditions. : The eight studies included a total 129 children (115 males and 14 females) with an average age of 8.93 ± 1.69 years. Children with ASD showed a reduction of 1.1 in the number of occurrences of stereotypical behaviors after intervention with physical exercise. : Evidence was found to support physical exercise as an effective tool in reducing the number of episodes of stereotypical behaviors in children diagnosed with ASD.
Topics: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Behavior Therapy; Child; Exercise; Female; Humans; Male; Stereotyped Behavior
PubMed: 31615098
DOI: 10.3390/medicina55100685 -
Nutrients Jan 2021There has been a growing interest in the gastrointestinal system and its significance for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including the significance of adopting a... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
There has been a growing interest in the gastrointestinal system and its significance for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including the significance of adopting a gluten-free and casein-free (GFCF) diet. The objective was to investigate beneficial and safety of a GFCF diet among children with a diagnosis of ASD. We performed a systematic literature search in Medline, Embase, Cinahl, and the Cochrane Library up to January 2020 for existing systematic reviews and individual randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Studies were included if they investigated a GFCF diet compared to a regular diet in children aged 3 to 17 years diagnosed with ASD, with or without comorbidities. The quality of the identified existing reviews was assessed using A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR). The risk of bias in RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, and overall quality of evidence was evaluated using Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). We identified six relevant RCTs, which included 143 participants. The results from a random effect model showed no effect of a GFCF diet on clinician-reported autism core symptoms (standardized mean difference (SMD) -0.31 (95% Cl. -0.89, 0.27)), parent-reported functional level (mean difference (MD) 0.61 (95% Cl -5.92, 7.14)) or behavioral difficulties (MD 0.80 (95% Cl -6.56, 10.16)). On the contrary, a GFCF diet might trigger gastrointestinal adverse effects (relative risk (RR) 2.33 (95% Cl 0.69, 7.90)). The quality of evidence ranged from low to very low due to serious risk of bias, serious risk of inconsistency, and serious risk of imprecision. Clinical implications of the present findings may be careful consideration of introducing a GFCF diet to children with ASD. However, the limitations of the current literature hinder the possibility of drawing any solid conclusion, and more high-quality RCTs are needed. The protocol is registered at the Danish Health Authority website.
Topics: Adolescent; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Caseins; Child; Diet, Gluten-Free; Diet, Protein-Restricted; Humans
PubMed: 33573238
DOI: 10.3390/nu13020470