Article
Immunology
Hui Lv, Xiao Gu, Xingyue Shan, Tailin Zhu, Bingke Ma, Hao-Tian Zhang, Victorio Bambini-Junior, Tiantian Zhang, Wei-Guang Li, Xiaoling Gao, Fei Li
Summary: By utilizing nanotechnology, the study found that bumetanide can effectively alleviate social deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), specifically within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) region. Furthermore, the therapeutic effect of bumetanide was found to be dependent on microglia targeting in the mPFC.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Veronique Crutel, Estelle Lambert, Pierre-Francois Penelaud, Cristina Albarran Severo, Joaquin Fuentes, Antoine Rosier, Amaia Hervas, Stephane Marret, Guiomar Oliveira, Mara Parellada, Simon Kyaga, Sylvie Gouttefangeas, Marianne Bertrand, Denis Ravel, Bruno Falissard
Summary: The two Phase III studies aim to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bumetanide oral liquid formulation in children with ASD, potentially providing a new pharmacological treatment to improve social reciprocity and limit repetitive and rigid behaviors in children with ASD.
JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Joaquin Fuentes, Mara Parellada, Christina Georgoula, Guiomar Oliveira, Stephane Marret, Veronique Crutel, Cristina Albarran, Estelle Lambert, Pierre-Francois Penelaud, Denis Ravel, Yehezkel Ben Ari
Summary: The efficacy and safety of bumetanide oral solution for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children and adolescents was evaluated in two international, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trials. The results showed that bumetanide did not demonstrate a significant benefit compared to placebo in the overall studied populations. The sponsor has discontinued the development of bumetanide for the treatment of pediatric ASD.
Article
Psychiatry
Lisa Geertjens, Gianina Cristian, Eva Haspels, Jennifer Ramautar, Gert Jan van der Wilt, Matthijs Verhage, Hilgo Bruining
Summary: This study aims to validate the effects of bumetanide in subpopulations of neurodevelopmental disorders, validate a recently proposed treatment prediction effect methodology, and refine endpoint measurements.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Masud Rabbani, Munirul M. Haque, Dipranjan Das Dipal, Md Ishrak Islam Zarif, Anik Iqbal, Amy Schwichtenberg, Naveen Bansal, Tanjir Rashid Soron, Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the behavioral patterns of children with ASD during and after the COVID-19 lockdown, and found that support in the areas of problematic behavior could mitigate future risks.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
James T. Nugent, Christine Bakhoum, Lama Ghazi, Jason H. Greenberg
Summary: This study compares the frequency of hypertension screening at health maintenance visits between children with and without autism.
Article
Pediatrics
Elisabeth Fernell, Peik Gustafsson, Christopher Gillberg
Summary: A three-month trial of bumetanide on six children with autism showed significant improvement in communicative and cognitive abilities for most children, with few reported negative side effects. Further validation in large-scale randomized controlled trials is recommended.
Review
Cell Biology
Yehezkel Ben-Ari, Enrico Cherubini
Summary: The GABA polarity shift is a widely accepted major discovery to understand brain development, and bumetanide has shown promising effects in clinical trials.
Article
Psychology, Developmental
Christina Georgoula, Maite Ferrin, Bozena Pietraszczyk-Kedziora, Amaia Hervas, Stephane Marret, Guiomar Oliveira, Antoine Rosier, Veronique Crutel, Emmanuelle Besse, Cristina Albarran Severo, Denis Ravel, Joaquin Fuentes
Summary: This is an international study investigating the efficacy of bumetanide as a treatment for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders in children and adolescents. The study results will provide important data on the effectiveness and safety of bumetanide in autistic children and adolescents.
CHILD PSYCHIATRY & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Mingxing Lou, Aihua Cao, Cuiyuan Jin, Kai Mi, Xiyue Xiong, Zhaoyang Zeng, Xu Pan, Jinlong Qie, Shangfeng Qiu, Yaofang Niu, Hao Liang, Yanping Liu, Lin Chen, Zhi Liu, Qing Zhao, Xiyan Qiu, Yuanxiang Jin, Xiaoqi Sheng, Zhibin Hu, Gulei Jin, Jingshi Liu, Xingyin Liu, Yichao Wang
Summary: Recent studies have revealed the developmental characteristics of gut microbiota in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), showing a distinct and progressive deviation in microbiota development, as well as extensive microbial changes before the age of 3.
Article
Computer Science, Hardware & Architecture
Fangyu Shi, Wei Sun, Huiyu Duan, Xiaotian Liu, Menghan Hu, Wei Wang, Guangtao Zhai
Summary: This study established an ASD painting database, analyzed the unique characteristics of paintings by children with ASD, and trained a classifier using extracted features as a potential screening tool for autism spectrum disorder.
Review
Nutrition & Dietetics
Priscila Kelly da Silva Bezerra do Nascimento, David Franciole Oliveira Silva, Tassia Louise Sousa Augusto de Morais, Adriana Augusto de Rezende
Summary: This review aimed to summarize scientific evidence on the relationship between zinc status and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children and adolescents. A total of 52 studies were included, with 19 studies showing lower zinc concentrations in the ASD group. However, overall, there was no significant difference in zinc concentrations between children and adolescents with ASD compared to controls. More prospective studies with greater methodological rigor are needed to further characterize this relationship.
Review
Computer Science, Cybernetics
Ana Paula de Carvalho, Camila S. S. Braz, Sibele M. M. dos Santos, Renato A. C. Ferreira, Raquel O. O. Prates
Summary: This systematic literature review explores the potential of serious games for the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The review categorizes games based on the skills they aim to develop, their activities, and customization options. The review finds that there are many serious games focused on developing social and socio-emotional skills for ASD children. The study also identifies different strategies and features adopted in the games. The review suggests that offering more customization options can enhance the applicability and utility of serious games for ASD children.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Anders Pretzmann Mikkelsen, Iben Katinka Greiber, Nikolai Madrid Scheller, Ojvind Lidegaard
Summary: A nationwide retrospective cohort study in Denmark found no significant association between maternal exposure to epidural analgesia during labor and autism spectrum disorder in offspring.
JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Orsolya Kiss, Katalin Olah, Lili Julia Feher, Jozsef Topal
Summary: The study found that children tend to categorize fellow humans based on transient features rather than permanent features, while they are more likely to categorize dogs based on permanent features.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Lizhu Luo, Christelle Langley, Laura Moreno-Lopez, Keith Kendrick, David K. Menon, Emmanuel A. Stamatakis, Barbara J. Sahakian
Summary: This study examined the association between depressive symptoms in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and altered resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) or voxel-based morphology in brain regions involved in emotional regulation and associated with depression. The results showed a positive association between depression scores and rs-fc between limbic regions and cognitive control regions, while there was a negative association between depression scores and rs-fc between limbic and frontal regions involved in emotion regulation. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying depression following TBI and can inform treatment decisions.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Martine Skumlien, Claire Mokrysz, Tom P. Freeman, Vincent Valton, Matthew B. Wall, Michael Bloomfield, Rachel Lees, Anna Borissova, Kat Petrilli, Manuela Giugliano, Denisa Clisu, Christelle Langley, Barbara J. Sahakian, H. Valerie Curran, Will Lawn
Summary: This study examined the association between cannabis use and anhedonia, apathy, pleasure, and effort-based decision-making for reward, and explored the moderating effect of age group.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Martine Skumlien, Tom P. Freeman, Daniel Hall, Claire Mokrysz, Matthew B. Wall, Shelan Ofori, Kat Petrilli, Katie Trinci, Anna Borissova, Natalia Fernandez-Vinson, Christelle Langley, Barbara J. Sahakian, H. Valerie Curran, Will Lawn
Summary: In this study, researchers investigated the neural correlates of reward anticipation after acute exposure to cannabis in adolescents and adults. They found that cannabis use suppresses the brain's anticipatory reward response to money, and CBD does not modulate this effect. Additionally, the adolescent reward circuitry is not differentially sensitive to the acute effects of cannabis on reward anticipation.
BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY-COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xinran Wu, Lena Palaniyappan, Gechang Yu, Kai Zhang, Jakob Seidlitz, Zhaowen Liu, Xiangzhen Kong, Gunter Schumann, Jianfeng Feng, Barbara J. Sahakian, Trevor W. Robbins, Edward Bullmore, Jie Zhang
Summary: This study constructed a whole-brain morphometric similarity network and found that developmental dissimilarities between cortical and subcortical regions were associated with cognitive and psychiatric status during preadolescence.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Christelle Langley, Sophia Armand, Qiang Luo, George Savulich, Tina Segerberg, Anna Sondergaard, Elisabeth B. Pedersen, Nanna Svart, Oliver Overgaard-Hansen, Annette Johansen, Camilla Borgsted, Rudolf N. Cardinal, Trevor W. Robbins, Dea S. Stenbaek, Gitte M. Knudsen, Barbara J. Sahakian
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the chronic effects of the SSRI escitalopram on cognition in healthy volunteers. The findings revealed that escitalopram decreased reinforcement sensitivity but had no significant impact on "cold" cognition and decision-making ability. These findings suggest that serotonin reuptake inhibition plays a role in reinforcement learning in healthy individuals.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Barbara J. Sahakian
Summary: In this article, the author discusses the important areas where scientists can have impact, including problem solving, new developments, and addressing neuroethical and societal concerns. The author emphasizes the importance of early detection, pharmacological treatment, and neuropsychological understanding of cognitive deficits in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. The author also highlights the role of books, articles, and media in influencing government policy and encourages young scientists to contribute to policy development and public engagement.
PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Roxanne W. Hook, Masanori Isobe, George Savulich, Jon E. Grant, Konstantinos Ioannidis, David Christmas, Barbara J. Sahakian, Trevor W. Robbins, Samuel R. Chamberlain
Summary: This study found that single-dose istradefylline can impact human cognition, particularly in the social information preference task with emotional loading. This indicates the under-studied role of the adenosine neurochemical system in human cognition, which requires further exploration.
EUROPEAN NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Michal M. Graczyk, Barbara J. Sahakian, Trevor W. Robbins, Karen D. Ersche
Summary: Not everyone who uses drugs loses control over their intake, which is a hallmark of addiction. Although familial risk studies suggest significant addiction heritability, the genetic basis of vulnerability to drug addiction remains largely unknown. In this study, the researchers examined the relationship between self-control, cocaine use, and a specific gene variant (rs36024) associated with the noradrenaline transporter gene. They found that individuals carrying the C-allele of this gene exhibited impaired self-control, particularly in the context of chronic cocaine use. Patients with cocaine use disorder who had the CC genotype showed longer stop-signal reaction time and fewer successful stops compared to healthy controls and patients with the TT genotype. These findings suggest that rs36024 may be a potential genetic vulnerability marker for cocaine addiction.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Christelle Langley, Naoki Masuda, Simon Godwin, Giovanni De Marco, Angela Davies Smith, Rosemary Jones, Jared Bruce, Ngoc Jade Thai
Summary: This study aimed to establish the role of the basal ganglia in fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) using functional connectivity measures. The results suggest that decreased local functional connectivity within the basal ganglia plays a key role in cognitive fatigue in MS. Increased global functional connectivity between the basal ganglia and the cortex may serve as a compensatory mechanism to reduce the impact of fatigue in MS.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Annette Johansen, Sophia Armand, Pontus Plaven-Sigray, Arafat Nasser, Brice Ozenne, Ida N. Petersen, Sune H. Keller, Jacob Madsen, Vincent Beliveau, Kirsten Moller, Alexandra Vassilieva, Christelle Langley, Claus Svarer, Dea S. Stenbaek, Barbara J. Sahakian, Gitte M. Knudsen
Summary: This study investigated the effects of the SSRI escitalopram on synaptic plasticity. The findings suggest that daily intake of escitalopram for 3-5 weeks can lead to changes in brain synaptic plasticity, providing a biological explanation for the delayed treatment response commonly observed in patients treated with SSRIs.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Qiang Luo, Jonathan W. Kanen, Andrea Bari, Nikolina Skandali, Christelle Langley, Gitte Moos Knudsen, Johan Alsio, Benjamin U. Phillips, Barbara J. Sahakian, Rudolf N. Cardinal, Trevor W. Robbins
Summary: This study shows that manipulating serotonin function in rats and humans can affect behavioral flexibility and plasticity. Specifically, increasing serotonin function increases choice repetition ("stickiness") and reward learning rates, while decreasing serotonin function decreases these measures. This finding is clinically relevant for understanding neuropsychiatric disorders.
NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ke Tong, Yuan Ni Chan, Xiaoqin Cheng, Bobby Cheon, Michelle Ellefson, Restria Fauziana, Shengchuang Feng, Nastassja Fischer, Balazs Gulyas, Natalie Hoo, David Hung, Kastoori Kalaivanan, Christelle Langley, Kean Mun Lee, Li Ling Lee, Timothy Lee, Irene Melani, Nadhilla Melia, Jia Ying Pei, Lisha Raghani, Yoke Loo Sam, Peter Seow, John Suckling, Yan Fen Tan, Chew Lee Teo, Ryutaro Uchiyama, Hui Shan Yap, Georgios Christopoulos, Henriette Hendriks, Annabel Chen, Trevor Robbins, Barbara Sahakian, Zoe Kourtzi, Victoria Leong
Summary: Cognitive flexibility (CF) allows individuals to adapt and respond to changes in their environment. This study aims to examine the construct validity of CF in relation to other cognitive skills and explore its specific relationships with learning, creativity, career decision making, and other life skills.