Social Camouflaging in Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with increasing prevalence, and a male-to-female ratio of 4:1. Research has been suggesting that discrepancy in prevalence may be due to the fact that females camouflage their symptoms. In this study, we aimed to systematically review evidence on the camouflage effect in females with ASD. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we reviewed empirical research published from January 2009 to September 2019 on PubMed, Web of Science, PsychInfo and Scopus databases. Thirteen empirical articles were included in this review. Overall, evidence supports that camouflaging seems to be an adaptive mechanism for females with ASD, despite the negative implications of these behaviours in their daily life.

     

Brief Report: Health-Related Quality of Life in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder is Related to Diagnostic Age and Autistic Symptom Severity

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - We conducted a cross-sectional study to explore whether clinical characteristics and autism diagnostic-traits severity are associated with...     

c-myc and bcl-2 modulate p53 function by altering p53 subcellular trafficking during the cell cycle.

We have studied the ability of c-myc and bcl-2 oncogenes to modulate p53 function. Our studies show that coincident expression of human Bcl-2 protein with p53 prolongs survival of murine erythroleukemia cells. This effect was associated with a loss of the G1 specificity of p53-mediated cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, we found that the c-myc and bcl-2 genes cooperate to inhibit p53 functions. Coexpression of bcl-2 and c-myc can totally overcome p53-induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by altering the subcellular trafficking of p53 during the cell cycle: the p53 remains in the cytoplasm of the cotransfected cells during a critical period in G1. This finding suggests a mechanism by which normal hematopoietic progenitors can survive and proliferate despite p53 expression and by which the inappropriate expression of bcl-2 and c-myc can cooperate in transformation.     

A 6q14.1‐q15 microdeletion in a male patient with severe autistic disorder,lack of oral language,and dysmorphic features with concomitant presence of a maternally inherited Xp22.31 copy number gain

We report on a male patient with severe autistic disorder, lack of oral language, and dysmorphic features who carries a rare interstitial microdeletion of 4.96 Mb at chromosome 6q14.1‐q15. The patient also harbors a maternally inherited copy number gain of 1.69 Mb at chromosome Xp22.31, whose pathogenicity is under debate.     

Risk Factors for Falls in Older Korean Adults: The 2011 Community Health Survey

Falls are a major health problem for elderly populations worldwide. We analyzed data from the 2011 Korean Community Health Survey to identify potential risk factors for falls in a representative population-based sample of community-dwelling older Korean adults. Risk factors for falls were assessed by multivariate survey logistic regression models. The prevalence of falls was 36.5% in males and 63.5% in females. Age and female sex were associated with a higher risk of falls. Similarly, living alone, living in an urban area, poor self-rated health, and high stress were associated with a high risk of falls. Subjects with diabetes mellitus, stroke, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, cataracts, or depression had a high risk of falls. However, subjects with hypertension were at low risk for falls. In conclusion, age, female sex, marital status, residence location, self-rated health, stress, and several chronic conditions were significantly associated with the risk for falls in the older Korean adults. Our findings suggest that these risk factors should be addressed in public health policies for preventing falls.

Graphical Abstract

     

White blood cell count is associated with carotid and femoral atherosclerosis

ObjectiveRelationship of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) is well documented in many populations, but comprehensive data is lacking in Indian population. Thus, we set out to investigate the association of hsCRP levels with MetS and its features and the effect of obesity and insulin resistance on this association in urban Indians.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study that included 9517 subjects comprising 4066 subjects with MetS. MetS was defined according to the modified National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) criteria for Asians.ResultsMedian levels of hsCRP were considerably higher in individuals with MetS with higher levels in women compared to men. Among the features of MetS, waist circumference was most strongly correlated with hsCRP levels (r = 0.28) and contributed maximally (β = 0.025 mg/l ln hsCRP, P = 7.4 × 10^?147). Subjects with high risk hsCRP levels (>3 mg/l) were at high risk of MetS (OR (95% CI) = 1.65(1.41–1.92), P = 1.7 × 10^?10). Risk of MetS increased in a dose dependent manner from low risk to high risk hsCRP category with increase in BMI and HOMA-IR.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that hsCRP predicts the risk of MetS, independent of obesity and insulin resistance, and therefore, can be a valuable tool to aid the identification of individuals at risk of MetS. The study provides a lead for future investigation for effects of hsCRP, obesity, and insulin resistance on MetS in this population.     

Dispersal will limit ability of mammals to track climate change in the Western Hemisphere

As they have in response to past climatic changes, many species will shift their distributions in response to modern climate change. However, due to the unprecedented rapidity of projected climatic changes, some species may not be able to move their ranges fast enough to track shifts in suitable climates and associated habitats. Here, we investigate the ability of 493 mammals to keep pace with projected climatic changes in the Western Hemisphere. We modeled the velocities at which species will likely need to move to keep pace with projected changes in suitable climates. We compared these velocities with the velocities at which species are able to move as a function of dispersal distances and dispersal frequencies. Across the Western Hemisphere, on average, 9.2% of mammals at a given location will likely be unable to keep pace with climate change. In some places, up to 39% of mammals may be unable to track shifts in suitable climates. Eighty-seven percent of mammalian species are expected to experience reductions in range size and 20% of these range reductions will likely be due to limited dispersal abilities as opposed to reductions in the area of suitable climate. Because climate change will likely outpace the response capacity of many mammals, mammalian vulnerability to climate change may be more extensive than previously anticipated.