Development and Psychometric Properties of a New Questionnaire to Assess Mental Health and Concerning Behaviors in Children and Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): The Assessment of Concerning Behavior (ACB) Scale

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Although 70% of autistic children and young people meet criteria for co-occurring psychiatric conditions, there are few screening measures...     

A Randomized Controlled Trial of High-Intensity Exercise and Executive Functioning in Cognitively Normal Older Adults

BackgroundThere is a paucity of interventional research that systematically assesses the role of exercise intensity and cardiorespiratory fitness, and their relationship with executive function in older adults. To address this limitation, we have examined the effect of a systematically manipulated exercise intervention on executive function.MethodsNinety-nine cognitively normal participants (age = 69.10 ± 5.2 years; n = 54 female) were randomized into either a high-intensity cycle-based exercise, moderate-intensity cycle-based exercise, or no-intervention control group. All participants underwent neuropsychological testing and fitness assessment at baseline (preintervention), 6-month follow-up (postintervention), and 12-month postintervention. Executive function was measured comprehensively, including measures of each subdomain: Shifting, Updating/ Working Memory, Inhibition, Verbal Generativity, and Nonverbal Reasoning. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured by analysis of peak aerobic capacity; VO₂peak.ResultsFirst, the exercise intervention was found to increase cardiorespiratory fitness (VO₂peak) in the intervention groups, in comparison to the control group (F =10.40, p≤0.01). However, the authors failed to find mean differences in executive function scores between the high-intensity, moderate intensity, or inactive control group. On the basis of change scores, cardiorespiratory fitness was found to associate positively with the executive function (EF) subdomains of Updating/Working Memory (β = 0.37, p = 0.01, r = 0.34) and Verbal Generativity (β = 0.30, p = 0.03, r = 0.28) for intervention, but not control participants.ConclusionAt the aggregate level, the authors failed to find evidence that 6-months of high-intensity aerobic exercise improves EF in older adults. However, it remains possible that individual differences in experimentally induced changes in cardiorespiratory fitness may be associated with changes in Updating/ Working Memory and Verbal Generativity.     

ADRB2, brain white matter integrity and cognitive ageing in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

The non-synonymous mutations arg16gly (rs1042713) and gln27glu (rs1042714) in the adrenergic β-2 receptor gene (ADRB2) have been associated with cognitive function and brain white matter integrity. The current study aimed to replicate these findings and expand them to a broader range of cognitive and brain phenotypes. The sample used is a community-dwelling group of older people, the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. They had been assessed cognitively at age 11 years, and undertook further cognitive assessments and brain diffusion MRI tractography in older age. The sample size range for cognitive function variables was N = 686–765, and for neuroimaging variables was N = 488–587. Previously-reported findings with these genetic variants did not replicate in this cohort. Novel, nominally significant associations were observed; notably, the integrity of the left arcuate fasciculus mediated the association between rs1042714 and the Digit Symbol Coding test of information processing speed. No significant associations of cognitive and brain phenotypes with ADRB2 variants survived correction for false discovery rate. Previous findings may therefore have been subject to type 1 error. Further study into links between ADRB2, cognitive function and brain white matter integrity is required.     

Retrograde Mitochondrial Transport Is Essential for Organelle Distribution and Health in Zebrafish Neurons

In neurons, mitochondria are transported by molecular motors throughout the cell to form and maintain functional neural connections. These organelles have many critical functions in neurons and are of high interest as their dysfunction is associated with disease. While the mechanics and impact of anterograde mitochondrial movement toward axon terminals are beginning to be understood, the frequency and function of retrograde (cell body directed) mitochondrial transport in neurons are still largely unexplored. While existing evidence indicates that some mitochondria are retrogradely transported for degradation in the cell body, the precise impact of disrupting retrograde transport on the organelles and the axon was unknown. Using long-term, in vivo imaging, we examined mitochondrial motility in zebrafish sensory and motor axons. We show that retrograde transport of mitochondria from axon terminals allows replacement of the axon terminal population within a day. By tracking these organelles, we show that not all mitochondria that leave the axon terminal are degraded; rather, they persist over several days. Disrupting retrograde mitochondrial flux in neurons leads to accumulation of aged organelles in axon terminals and loss of cell body mitochondria. Assays of neural circuit activity demonstrated that disrupting mitochondrial transport and function has no effect on sensory axon terminal activity but does negatively impact motor neuron axons. Taken together, our work supports a previously unappreciated role for retrograde mitochondrial transport in the maintenance of a homeostatic distribution of mitochondria in neurons and illustrates the downstream effects of disrupting this process on sensory and motor circuits.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Disrupted mitochondrial transport has been linked to neurodegenerative disease. Retrograde transport of this organelle has been implicated in turnover of aged organelles through lysosomal degradation in the cell body. Consistent with this, we provide evidence that retrograde mitochondrial transport is important for removing aged organelles from axons; however, we show that these organelles are not solely degraded, rather they persist in neurons for days. Disrupting retrograde mitochondrial transport impacts the homeostatic distribution of mitochondria throughout the neuron and the function of motor, but not sensory, axon synapses. Together, our work shows the conserved reliance on retrograde mitochondrial transport for maintaining a healthy mitochondrial pool in neurons and illustrates the disparate effects of disrupting this process on sensory versus motor circuits.     

Elite female athletes’ experiences and perceptions of the menstrual cycle on training and sport performance

The purpose of the current study was twofold (a) to examine elite female athletes’ experiences of their menstrual cycle, with a focus upon the impact on training and competition performance and (b) the openness of conversation pertaining to the menstrual cycle with coaching and support staff. Following receipt of institutional ethical approval, individual semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 17 elite female athletes (25.5 ± 4.7 years) from multiple sports. Results revealed athletes’ experiencing a natural menstrual cycle reported physical symptoms alongside mood disturbances and reduced motivation to train. The decision to actively control the menstrual cycle was often triggered by a desire to reduce the effect on competition, to lessen anxieties about making required weight or reduce distraction to manage during competition. Athletes indicated an openness to talk about the menstrual cycle to other females, however, there was variation in the comfort athletes experienced regarding talking to male coaches. Overall, the findings highlight the need to educate elite athletes and coaches on the menstrual cycle, considering it in the same light as other physiological functions in sport to improve health, well‐being, and performance. Furthermore, providing education on how to construct positive conversations, equipping individuals with the correct terminology, and confidence to talk about the menstrual cycle will reduce some reservations identified through improved knowledge and understanding.     

Multicomponent Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine (4CMenB; Bexsero®): A Review of its Use in Primary and Booster Vaccination

Multicomponent meningococcal serogroup B vaccine (4CMenB; Bexsero^®) is a unique vaccine containing four main immunogenic components: three recombinant proteins combined with outer membrane vesicles derived from meningococcal NZ98/254 strain. After three doses of 4CMenB (administered at 2, 3, and 4 months or 2, 4, and 6 months of age) in vaccine-naive infants, the majority of infants had seroprotective human complement serum bactericidal assay (hSBA) antibody titers against the meningococcal serogroup B test strains selected to be specific for the vaccine antigens in randomized, open-label or observer-blind, multicenter, phase IIb or III trials. In extensions to the phase III trial, two doses of 4CMenB administered between 12 and 15 months of age in vaccine-naive infants, and a single booster dose of 4CMenB administered at 12 months of age in vaccine-experienced infants, also elicited robust immunogenic responses. In a phase IIb/III trial, the majority of adolescents (aged 11–17 years) achieved seroprotective hSBA antibody titers against meningococcal serogroup B test strains after two doses of 4CMenB, and a third dose did not appear to add any extra protection. In adults who were potentially at an increased risk of occupational exposure to meningococcal isolates, seroprotection rates were high after one dose of 4CMenB and increased further after two or three doses in a small noncomparative, two-center, phase II trial. The reactogenicity of 4CMenB was generally acceptable in clinical trials. However, the vaccine was associated with more solicited systemic adverse events (particularly fever) in infants when coadministered with routine infant vaccines than when these vaccines were administered alone. In conclusion, 4CMenB effectively elicited immune responses against meningococcal serogroup B test strains selected to be specific for the vaccine antigens in infants, adolescents, and adults.