[Prevalence of the use of psychoactive medication to treat young persons with autism spectrum disorder in the province of Antwerp, Belgium]. / Gebruik van psychoactieve medicatie bij kinderen en jongeren met autisme-spectrumstoornis in de provincie Antwerpen.

BACKGROUND: Very little information is available concerning the prevalence of the use of medication for treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), particularly in European countries. Earlier studies have shown that a large number of patients with ASD use at least one psychoactive drug and that the numbers are increasing. Even in the nineties, studies suggested that the frequent use of psychoactive medication was widespread, although at the time there were only limited grounds for this assumption. AIM: To assess the prevalence with which psychoactive medication and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are being used for treating young people with ASD, and also to investigate relations between medication use and a number of individual characteristics that are included in the Behavioral Model of Health Service Use. METHOD: The study sample (0-17 years) in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, was recruited by various means. We used a questionnaire that had been previously used in North American studies and that had to be completed by the parents of the young persons involved in the study. RESULTS: We included data from 263 questionnaires. In our sample 42.6% of the young persons used one or more one psychoactive drug. More than 12.2% used more than one drug. The most frequently used psychoactive drugs were ADHD-medication (31.6%) and antipsychotics (16.7%). About 14% used at least one CAM. We found a positive relationship between the use of medication and psychiatric comorbidity and/or epilepsy, the severity of autism and the parents' living conditions. CONCLUSION: We found a relatively low use of antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilisers and sedatives, the prevalence being lower that that reported in North American studies. Our findings appear to be in accordance with current clinical guidelines.

Child sexual behavior inventory: A Dutch-speaking normative sample.

OBJECTIVES: To describe normative sexual behavior in Dutch-speaking children; to assess the frequencies of different types of sexual behaviors reported in children by their parents; to analyze the relation of these sexual behaviors to demographic, personal, familial, and general behavioral variables; and to compare the Dutch-speaking sample with American samples. METHOD: Nine hundred seventeen children (2-12 years of age), screened to exclude sexual abuse, were rated by their caregiver via parent report consisting of the translated Dutch version of the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory, the Child Behavior Checklist, a life event checklist, and a questionnaire assessing family nudity and parental attitudes regarding sexuality. RESULTS: Frequencies of a wide variety of sexual behaviors for 2- to 5-, 6- to 9-, and 10- to 12-year-old children are presented. Sexual behavior was found to be related to the child's age, maternal education, family nudity, and parental attitudes toward sexuality. The positive relation to general behavioral problems was confirmed. Findings were primarily similar to previously published American studies. CONCLUSION: Our study confirms that sexual behavior in children is varied and related to developmental, personal, and familial factors. The relative frequency of the wide variety of sexual behaviors in a Dutch-speaking normative sample is comparable to American samples.

Bilateral striatal necrosis with a novel point mutation in the mitochondrial ATPase 6 gene.

A 2.5-year-old boy with bilateral striatal lesions is reported. Using polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis and direct DNA sequencing, a novel point mutation (T to C) at nucleotide 8851 of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was identified. This mutation changes a highly conserved tryptophan to arginine in subunit 6 of the mtATPase gene. The mutation was nearly homoplasmic and maternally inherited. This is the first published report of a mutation in the mtDNA in bilateral striatal degeneration. It is possible that other cases of bilateral striatal degeneration have been caused by mutations in the mtATPase 6 gene or genes encoding other subunits of the mtATPase; and therefore the mtATPase genes should be examined in children with this condition.