Suicidalité chez les adolescents appartenant au spectre de l’autisme

Suicidal behaviors are clinically mentioned in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). But clinical research in this field is very limited and the diagnosis is not considered in emergency units. In clinical populations of adolescents with an ASD, suicidality was found with a frequency of 11–20%. One of the major individual risk factors to look for is the depressive disorder. However, the diagnosis is quite difficult to make because of the common features between ASD and depression. Self-assessment of suicidality and depression or anxiety remains unreliable, suggesting the need of external observers. The bullying and social integration problems are some important concerns in this population, because they are considered as predisposing factors pushing to commit suicide. Further clinical research in suicidal behaviors in adolescent with ASD will lead to develop targeted therapeutic interventions.     

Distribution of 3H-soman in mice

³H-soman (specific activity 10 Ci/mMol), a potent irreversible cholinesterase inhibitor, was administered IV to mice in a dose of one LD-50, which corresponds to 0.25 mCi/mouse. Animals were sacrificed at 5 min, 2 h and 24 h, and whole body autoradiography was performed. High levels of radioactivity in lung and skin were observed at all time intervals after injection. The central nervous system showed very low concentrations of radioactivity, which remained so for 24 h post-injection. Considerable accumulation of ³H-soman in the urine and gallbladder, and in the intestinal lumen, may indicate these as pathways of soman excretion. Quantitative determinations of radioactivity in various tissue samples were consistent with the above-mentioned findings.It is concluded that the nature of the persistent binding of soman to lung and skin is striking, and may indicate the existence of specific sites for soman depots.