Is the presence of urinary indolyl‐3‐acryloylglycine associated with autism spectrum disorder?

To test whether the presence of indolyl-3-acryloylglycine (IAG) is associated with autism, we analyzed urine from population-based, blinded cohorts. All children in York, UK with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), diagnosed using ICD-10 research diagnostic criteria, were invited to participate. Fifty-six children on the autism spectrum (mean age 9y 8mo, SD 3y 8mo; 79% male) agreed to participate, as did 155 children without ASDs (mean age 10y, SD 3y 2mo; 54% male) in mainstream and special schools (56 of whom were age-, sex-, and school-matched to children with ASDs). IAG was found at similar levels in the urine of all children, whether IAG concentrations or IAG:creatinine ratios were compared. There was no significant difference between the ASD and the comparison group, and no difference between children at mainstream schools and those at special schools. There is no association between presence of IAG in urine and autism; therefore, it is unlikely to be of help either diagnostically or as a basis for recommending therapeutic intervention with dietary manipulation. The significance of the presence of IAG in urine has yet to be determined.     

Mothers with Depression,School‐Age Children with Depression? A Systematic Review

PURPOSE: To carry out a systematic review of the association between maternal and school‐age children depression and covariate factors. DESIGN AND METHODS: The key words maternal depression, depressed children, and school‐age key words were searched in Medline, Lilacs, Scielo, IndexPsi, and PsycInfo (2004–2010). Clinical and community cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies were included. A qualitative checklist was used. FINDINGS: Thirty studies were included (21.926 dyads). The results supported the association, showing several modulators: family environment, marital adjustment, social support, depression symptoms, and children‐related variables. Limitations were nonrandom samples, single informants, and nondepression diagnosis. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Identifying mothers with depression may be useful for prevention and early detection of school‐age children's depression.     

Does alpha phase modulate visual target detection? Three experiments with tACS‐phase‐based stimulus presentation

In recent years, the influence of alpha (7–13 Hz) phase on visual processing has received a lot of attention. Magneto‐/encephalography (M/EEG) studies showed that alpha phase indexes visual excitability and task performance. Studies with transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) aim to modulate oscillations and causally impact task performance. Here, we applied right occipital tACS (O2 location) to assess the functional role of alpha phase in a series of experiments. We presented visual stimuli at different pre‐determined, experimentally controlled, phases of the entraining tACS signal, hypothesizing that this should result in an oscillatory pattern of visual performance in specifically left hemifield detection tasks. In experiment 1, we applied 10 Hz tACS and used separate psychophysical staircases for six equidistant tACS‐phase conditions, obtaining contrast thresholds for detection of visual gratings in left or right hemifield. In experiments 2 and 3, tACS was at EEG‐based individual peak alpha frequency. In experiment 2, we measured detection rates for gratings with (pseudo‐)fixed contrast. In experiment 3, participants detected brief luminance changes in a custom‐built LED device, at eight equidistant alpha phases. In none of the experiments did the primary outcome measure over phase conditions consistently reflect a one‐cycle sinusoid. However, post hoc analyses of reaction times (RT) suggested that tACS alpha phase did modulate RT for specifically left hemifield targets in both experiments 1 and 2 (not measured in experiment 3). This observation requires future confirmation, but is in line with the idea that alpha phase causally gates visual inputs through cortical excitability modulation.     

Are MRI‐detected brain abnormalities associated with febrile seizure type?

OBJECTIVE: Whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is informative in febrile seizures (FS) is unknown. We undertook a study to determine the frequency of MRI-detected brain abnormalities and to evaluate their association with FS type and with specific features of complex FS. METHODS: A prospective cohort study, from 1999 to 2004, included children with first FS from one Pediatric Emergency Department. MRI of the brain was performed within 1 week of the seizure. FS type was categorized by experts blind to the prior clinical history and MRI results. MRI examinations were read blind to the child's clinical history and FS type, and interviewers were blind to MRI results. RESULTS: In 159 children with a first FS, imaging abnormalities occurred in 12.6% (N = 20). Eight of the 54 with complex FS had imaging abnormalities compared to 12 of the 105 with simple FS (n.s.). Compared to children with simple FS, children with both focal and prolonged FS (N = 14) were more likely to have imaging abnormality (OR = 4.3, 95% CI = 1.2-15.0), even after adjustment for abnormal neurological examination. Imaging abnormalities included those known to be associated with seizures (e.g., focal cortical dysplasia) and those not typically associated with seizures (e.g., subcortical focal hyperintensities > or = 5 mm). DISCUSSION: Our data suggest that brain abnormalities may lower seizure threshold in febrile children, predisposing to the development of FS. Clinical management was unaffected and therefore these data do not alter the recommendation that MRI is unnecessary in children with FS, without some other neurological indication.     

Expression of stromal‐cell‐derived factor‐1 (SDF‐1): a predictor of ischaemic stroke?

Background and purpose: Platelet stromal‐cell‐derived factor‐1 (SDF‐1) plays a pivotal role in angiogenesis and the regeneration of ischaemic tissue through the regulation of haematopoietic progenitor cells and is upregulated at the sites of vascular injury and platelet activation. Thus, SDF‐1 has recently been discussed as a predictor in ischaemic diseases such as acute myocardial infarction. However, no clinical data pertinent to the investigation of the platelet SDF‐1 expression in patients with stroke are available. Methods: We consecutively evaluated 196 patients who were admitted to the stroke unit with symptoms suspected for stroke. Surface expression of the platelet activation markers (P‐selectin and GPIb) and the expression of platelet‐bound SDF‐1 were determined by two‐colour whole blood flow cytometry. Results: Patients with transient ischaemic attack (TIA) as well as with ischaemic stroke showed similar levels of SDF‐1 expression on hospital admission compared with patients with non‐ischaemic (NI) events and with 30 healthy controls (TIA (mean fluorescence intensity ± SD): 31.5 ± 18.2 vs. NI: 26.4 ± 15.7; P = 0.361; stroke: 28.7 ± 19.8 vs. NI; P = 0.943; control: 26.1 ± 11.3; P > 0.05 compared with all). Platelet SDF‐1 expression showed a trend with the severity of stroke according to National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score (r = 0.125; P = 0.085), but significantly correlated with the peak levels of C‐reactive protein (r = 0.218; P = 0.002) and with the levels of platelet activation (P‐selectin: r = 0.389; P = 0.001). Multifactorial analysis of covariance revealed a significant influence on platelet SDF‐1 expression by smoking (P = 0.019). Conclusions: Platelet SDF‐1 surface expression did not show any significant difference in patients with TIA and ischaemic stroke compared with patients with NI events. Thus, single biomarker evaluation of platelet SDF‐1 surface expression is not helpful to predict ischaemic stroke.