Characteristics of developmental regression in autistic children / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>About 30% of autistic cases experience developmental regression around 2 years of age. The clinical course and manifestations of autistic children with regression remain unclear. This study investigated the clinical features of a group of autistic children with regression.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and fifty-two children at ages of 2.5-6.5 years confirmed with autism based on DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were enrolled. They were grouped according to language development: normal or regression. The perinatal history, developmental history and characteristics of regression were investigated. The symptoms were compared between the two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Regressions were observed in 33 children (21.7%) at age of between 16 and 21 months, with loss both in communicative skills and social engagement. The regressive group was scored significantly higher on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) (P<0.05) and had a relatively higher proportion of severely ill children (66.7% vs 45.4%; P<0.05)compared with the non-regressive group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Regression as a characteristic symptom occurs in some autistic children and is of value for diagnosis of autism. The autistic children with regression display more severe social and language impairments than those without regression. Regressive autism may be a special subtype.</p>

[Plasma and red blood cell folate levels among women in their first trimester of pregnancy from rural areas with high or low prevalence of neural tube defects, China].

OBJECTIVE: To compare plasma and red blood cell folate levels among women in their first trimester of pregnancy from rural areas with high or low prevalence of neural tube defects. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed, among women in their first trimester of pregnancy from rural areas with high or low prevalence of neural tube defects in 2003. Non-fasting blood sample were collected and analyzed for plasma and red blood cell folate concentrations for 688 women. RESULTS: The median plasma (10.53 nmol/L) and red blood cell folate (389.2 nmol/L) among women from the high prevalence rural area were lower than those of women from the low prevalence rural area (plasma folate: 30.39 nmol/L, red blood cell level folate: 926.0 nmol/L). Among women from the high prevalence area, about 50% and 43% were respectively, deficient for plasma and red blood cell folate, compared with 6% and 4% respectively, for women from the low prevalence area. The median plasma folate levels among women who took periconceptional folic acid supplements in both high and low prevalence areas were about twice higher than those who did not take the folic acid. The median red blood cell folate level of the folic acid users was 40% higher than those of the non-users. Among those who took folic acid, women in the low prevalence area had 70%-90% higher plasma folate concentration and twice higher red cell folate concentration than women in the high prevalence area. CONCLUSION: Women from the rural area with a high prevalence of neural tube defects had low plasma and red blood cell folate levels. Periconceptional supplementation with folic acid could substantially improve folate status of reproductive-aged women. However, supplementation with 0.4 mg of folic acid per day might be inadequate for women in the high prevalence rural area.

Behavioral patterns of autistic children during infancy / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The present study investigated the behavioral patterns of autistic children during infancy to provide clues for early identification of childhood autism.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The abnormal behaviors of 30 children with autism and 26 children with other developmental disorders in infancy were investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The children with autism presented a series of abnormal behaviors, including no social smile, no eye contact and no respond to own name, and joint attention deficiency, which were distinguished from the children with other developmental disorders. The imitation and attachment behaviors were significantly different between the two groups. Repetitive motor actions and interest peculiarity were only seen in children with autism.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The children with autism may present a series of abnormal behaviors as early as in infancy. The abnormal behaviors facilitate early diagnosis of autism.</p>

[Comparative study of the detection of plasma folate with microbial assay and radioimmunoassay].

OBJECTIVE: To compare two methods (microbial assay and radioimmunoassay) for measuring plasma folate concentrations, and to examine the relationship between plasma folate levels, and alcohol consumption, tobacco use and body mass index, and the risk of hyperhomocysteinemia in China. METHODS: We used a microtiter plate microbial assay and a radioimmunoassay to measure the folate concentration in 88 plasma samples. After comparing the results of these two methods and fitting a regression line, we examined the geographical, seasonal, and gender differences in folate concentration of plasma collected from 2,422 adults in south and north areas in China, and evaluated the association of plasma folate concentration, with alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and body mass index, and with the risk of hyperhomocysteinemia, using the data from the two assays. RESULTS: The data from the two assays had a linear relationship (r=0.879, P=0.000); the regression was Y=0.683X+0.308 (where X and Y were nature logarithmic transformations of plasma folate by microbial assay and radioimmunoassay, respectively); however, the mean plasma folate levels by microbial assay were much higher than those obtained by radioimmunoassay. Both data sets showed similar plasma folate distributions among Chinese adults, associations with other risk factors, and the risk of hyperhomocysteinemia. We estimated that 19.9% of the Southerners and 67.1% of the Northerners had plasma folate concentrations by radioimmunoassay lower than the 6.8 nmol/L used to define plasma folate deficiency. CONCLUSION: There is a linear relationship between plasma folate levels determined by microbial assay and radioimmunoassay, but because of the different levels obtained in the two assays, it is difficult to use the microbial assay results to evaluate folate status at this time. The use of 10.5 nmol/L as a cut-off for plasma folate deficiency by microbial assay needs further study.