Gender differences in psychosocial function and self-reported health status in late-diagnosed autistic adults: results from the FACE-ASD national cohort.

BACKGROUND: While adult outcome in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is generally measured using socially valued roles, it could also be understood in terms of aspects related to health status - an approach that could inform on potential gender differences. METHODS: We investigated gender differences in two aspects of outcome related to health-status, i.e. general functioning and self-perceived health status, and co-occurring health conditions in a large multi-center sample of autistic adults. Three hundred and eighty-three participants were consecutively recruited from the FondaMental Advanced Centers of Expertise for ASD cohort (a French network of seven expert centers) between 2013 and 2020. Evaluation included a medical interview, standardized scales for autism diagnosis, clinical and functional outcomes, self-perceived health status and verbal ability. Psychosocial function was measured using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale. RESULTS: While autistic women in this study were more likely than men to have socially valued roles, female gender was associated with poorer physical and mental health (e.g. a 7-fold risk for having three or more co-occurring physical health conditions) and a poorer self-perceived health status. Psychosocial function was negatively associated with depression and impairment in social communication. Half of the sample had multiple co-occurring health conditions but more than 70% reported that their visit at the Expert Center was their first contact with mental health services. CONCLUSIONS: To improve objective and subjective aspects of health outcome, gender differences and a wide range of co-occurring health conditions should be taken into account when designing healthcare provision for autistic adults.

Maternal immune activation during pregnancy is associated with more difficulties in socio-adaptive behaviors in autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are neurodevelopmental conditions characterised by deficits in social communication and interaction and repetitive behaviours. Maternal immune activation (MIA) during the mid-pregnancy is a known risk factor for ASD. Although reported in 15% of affected individuals, little is known about the specificity of their clinical profiles. Adaptive skills represent a holistic approach to a person's competencies and reflect specifically in ASD, their strengths and difficulties. In this study, we hypothesised that ASD individual with a history of MIA (MIA+) could be more severely socio-adaptively impaired than those without MIA during pregnancy (MIA-). To answer this question, we considered two independent cohorts of individuals with ASD (PARIS study and FACE ASD) screened for pregnancy history, and used supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms. We included 295 mother-child dyads with 14% of them with MIA+. We found that ASD-MIA+ individuals displayed more severe maladaptive behaviors, specifically in their socialization abilities. MIA+ directly influenced individual's socio-adaptive skills, independent of other covariates, including ASD severity. Interestingly, MIA+ affect persistently the socio-adaptive behavioral trajectories of individuals with ASD. The current study has a retrospective design with possible recall bias regarding the MIA event and, even if pooled from two cohorts, has a relatively small population. In addition, we were limited by the number of covariables available potentially impacted socio-adaptive behaviors. Larger prospective study with additional dimensions related to ASD is needed to confirm our results. Specific pathophysiological pathways may explain these clinical peculiarities of ASD- MIA+ individuals, and may open the way to new perspectives in deciphering the phenotypic complexity of ASD and for the development of specific immunomodulatory strategies.

Clinical characteristics of adults suffering from high-functioning autism and comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a very heterogeneous disorder. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) comorbidity, frequent in ASD, could be useful to define a specific ASD subtype. Our objective was to explore if adults with ASD and comorbid OCD could present a specific clinical profile of ASD in 89 high functioning-adult ASD patients. We found that adults with ASD and comorbid OCD showed a lower verbal IQ and a more severe impairments in social cognition. ASD with comorbid OCD present a specific clinical profile which could constitute a possible subtype of ASD.

Possible Effect of the use of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a set of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions defined by impaired social interactions and repetitive behaviors. The number of reported cases has increased over the past decades, and ASD is now a major public health burden. So far, only treatments to alleviate symptoms are available, with still unmet need for an effective disease treatment to reduce ASD core symptoms. Genetic predisposition alone can only explain a small fraction of the ASD cases. It has been reported that environmental factors interacting with specific inter-individual genetic background may induce immune dysfunctions and contribute to the incidence of ASD. Such dysfunctions can be observed at the central level, with increased microglial cells and activation in ASD brains or in the peripheral blood, as reflected by high circulating levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, abnormal activation of T-cell subsets, presence of auto-antibodies and of dysregulated microbiota profiles. Altogether, the dysfunction of immune processes may result from immunogenetically-determined inefficient immune responses against a given challenge followed by chronic inflammation and autoimmunity. In this context, immunomodulatory therapies might offer a valid therapeutic option. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) immunoregulatory and immunosuppressive properties constitute a strong rationale for their use to improve ASD clinical symptoms. In vitro studies and pre-clinical models have shown that MSC can induce synapse formation and enhance synaptic function with consequent improvement of ASD-like symptoms in mice. In addition, two preliminary human trials based on the infusion of cord blood-derived MSC showed the safety and tolerability of the procedure in children with ASD and reported promising clinical improvement of core symptoms. We review herein the immune dysfunctions associated with ASD provided, the rationale for using MSC to treat patients with ASD and summarize the current available studies addressing this subject.

Fecal Supernatant from Adult with Autism Spectrum Disorder Alters Digestive Functions, Intestinal Epithelial Barrier, and Enteric Nervous System.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are neurodevelopmental disorders defined by impaired social interactions and communication with repetitive behaviors, activities, or interests. Gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances and gut microbiota dysbiosis are frequently associated with ASD in childhood. However, it is not known whether microbiota dysbiosis in ASD patients also occurs in adulthood. Further, the consequences of altered gut microbiota on digestive functions and the enteric nervous system (ENS) remain unexplored. Therefore, we studied, in mice, the ability offecal supernatant (FS) from adult ASD patients to induce GI dysfunctions and ENS remodeling. First, the analyses of the fecal microbiota composition in adult ASD patients indicated a reduced α-diversity and increased abundance of three bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants compared to healthy controls (HC). The transfer of FS from ASD patients (FS-ASD) to mice decreased colonic barrier permeability by 29% and 58% compared to FS-HC for paracellular and transcellular permeability, respectively. These effects are associated with the reduced expression of the tight junction proteins JAM-A, ZO-2, cingulin, and proinflammatory cytokines TNFα and IL1ß. In addition, the expression of glial and neuronal molecules was reduced by FS-ASD as compared to FS-HC in particular for those involved in neuronal connectivity (ßIII-tubulin and synapsin decreased by 31% and 67%, respectively). Our data suggest that changes in microbiota composition in ASD may contribute to GI alterations, and in part, via ENS remodeling.

From the microscope to the magnet: Disconnection in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

White matter (WM) abnormalities have implicated schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) as disconnection syndromes, yet the extent to which these abnormalities are shared versus distinct remains unclear. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies yield a putative measure of WM integrity while neuropathological studies provide more specific microstructural information. We therefore systematically reviewed all neuropathological (n = 12) and DTI (n = 11) studies directly comparing patients with SZ and BD. Most studies (18/23) reported no difference between patient groups. Changes in oligodendrocyte density, myelin staining and gene, protein and mRNA expression were found in SZ and/or BD patients as compared to healthy individuals, while DTI studies showed common alterations in thalamic radiations, uncinate fasciculus, corpus callosum, longitudinal fasciculus and corona radiata. Altogether, findings suggest shared disconnectivity in SZ and BD, which are likely related to their considerable overlap. Above all, neuroimaging findings corroborated neuropathological findings in the prefrontal cortex, demonstrating the utility of integrating multiple methodologies. Focusing on clinical dimensions over disease entities will advance our understanding of disconnectivity and help inform preventive medicine.

Neuroleptic intolerance in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis.

OBJECTIVE: To precisely describe the initial psychiatric presentation of patients with anti-NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antibodies encephalitis (anti-NMDAR encephalitis) to identify potential clues enhancing its early diagnosis. METHODS: We retrospectively studied the French Reference Centre medical records of every adult patient with anti-NMDAR encephalitis to specify the patients' initial psychiatric symptoms leading to hospitalization in a psychiatric department and the reasons underlying the diagnosis of anti-NMDAR encephalitis. RESULTS: The medical records of 111 adult patients were reviewed. Psychiatric features were the initial presentation in 65 patients (59%). Among them, several psychiatric manifestations were observed, including visual and auditory hallucinations (n = 26, 40%), depression (n = 15, 23%), mania (n = 5, 8%), acute schizoaffective episode (n = 15, 23%), and eating disorder or addiction (n = 4; 6%). Forty-five patients (40% of total cohort) were first hospitalized in a psychiatric institution (91% women), with a median duration of stay of 9 days (range 0.25-239 days). Among them, 24 patients (53%) had associated discreet neurologic signs at the first evaluation, while 17 additional patients (38%) developed neurologic signs within a few days. Twenty-one patients (47%) were transferred to a medical unit for a suspicion of antipsychotic intolerance characterized by high temperature, muscle rigidity, mutism or coma, and biological results suggesting rhabdomyolysis. CONCLUSIONS: Several psychiatric presentations were observed in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis, although none was specific; however, patients, mostly women, also had discreet neurologic signs that should be carefully assessed as well as signs of antipsychotic intolerance that should raise suspicion for anti-NMDAR encephalitis.