Journal Digest

The brains of girls with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear to differ from boys with ASD, according to a study published in Molecular Autism. The study also revealed behavioral differences between the two groups.

Researchers conducted two separate analyses, with data extrapolated from the National Database for Autism Research and Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange.

In the first analysis, the severity of ASD symptoms was examined in nearly 128 girls with ASD and 614 boys with the disorder. Compared with the boys, girls with ASD showed less severe repetitive/restricted behaviors and comparable deficits in social and communications domains on the Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised (ADI-R).

The researchers then examined symptom severity and structural imaging data obtained from 25 girls with ASD, 25 boys with ASD, and 19 girls and 19 boys without ASD. The researchers found that gray matter (GM) in the cortex, supplementary motor area (SMA), cerebellum, fusiform gyrus, and amygdala accurately discriminated girls and boys with ASD. They also found that the GM morphometry in the motor cortex, SMA, and cerebellum was correlated with scores on the repetitive/restricted behaviors domain of the ADI-R.

“Our findings not only provide evidence for distinct behavioral phenotypes in girls with ASD, compared with boys, but also link behavioral differences to brain structure. Importantly, the severity of repetitive/restricted behaviors is lower in girls with ASD and is associated with sex differences in GM morphometry in cortical and cerebellar regions involved in motor control,” the researchers wrote.

Smoke-free zone laws and higher taxes on cigarettes appear to deter young adults from smoking, according to a recent report in JAMA Pediatrics.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, tracked the smoking habits of youth aged 12 to 18 who participated in the 1997 Bureau of Labor Statistics National Longitudinal Survey of Youth for 11 years.

The researchers found that youth living in places with laws for 100 percent smoke-free workplaces were 34 percent less likely to initiate smoking than youth living in places without such bans. Youth living in areas with 100 percent smoke-free bar laws were 20 percent less likely to be smokers and those who were smokers, spent fewer days smoking.

The researchers also found that tax hikes on cigarettes deterred youth from smoking, with each 10-cent tax hike associated with a 3 percent drop in the odds of starting to smoke.

The researchers noted that the current findings suggest that not only do smoking laws “protect bystanders from secondhand smoke, but also contribute to less smoking among adolescents and young adults.”

Having multiple chronic conditions may be linked to an increased risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reports.

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic followed 2,176 seniors aged 70 to 89 without dementia for about 5 years to determine if an association existed between multiple chronic conditions and risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia.

The results showed that participants with more than one chronic condition were 38 percent more likely to develop MCI or dementia than those with one or no chronic conditions. Participants with four or more chronic conditions had a 61 percent increased risk of MCI or dementia. Additionally, men with multiple chronic conditions were significantly more likely to develop MCI or dementia than women with equivalent numbers of chronic conditions.

These findings are “consistent with the hypothesis that multiple etiologies may contribute to MCI and late-life dementia,” the researchers noted. Preventing chronic diseases may be beneficial in delaying or preventing MCI and dementia, they added.

The proportion of people with intellectual disabilities in the United Kingdom who have been treated with psychotropic drugs far exceeds the proportion with recorded severe mental illness, according to a recent study published in BMJ.

To determine the rates of psychotropic prescriptions made to people with intellectual disabilities with or without comorbid psychiatric disorders, researchers from the University College London analyzed the electronic health records of 33,016 adults living in the United Kingdom with a diagnosed intellectual disability. The participants were followed over five years.

Over the course of the trial, 9,135 participants were treated with antipsychotic drugs; 6,503 (71 percent of total prescribed antipsychotics) had no record of having been diagnosed with a severe mental illness. New prescriptions for antipsychotics were significantly more common in older people and those with a record of challenging behavior, autism, and dementia.

“Psychotropic drugs are an important element in the management of specific psychiatric conditions,” the researchers noted. “However, we have shown that adults with intellectual disability are treated with psychotropic drugs at a rate far exceeding that of recorded mental illness and that certain subgroups (such as those with challenging behaviors) are significantly more likely to receive antipsychotic drugs.” ■