PDDNOS

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interactions, communication, and stereotypical behaviors. Immune dysfunction is a common co-morbidity seen in ASD, with innate immune activation seen both in the brain and periphery. We previously identified significant differences in peripheral monocyte cytokine responses after stimulation with lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which activate toll-like receptors (TLR)-2 and 4 respectively...

Background : Recent studies suggest that an extra sex chromosome increases the risk of both autism and social anxiety, but it unclear whether these risks are specific to particular karyotypes. Methods : We considered diagnostic data from an online psychiatric assessment (DAWBA - The Development and Well-Being Assessment) and questionnaire responses completed by parents of children with 47,XXX (N = 29), 47,XXY (N = 28) and 47,XYY (N = 32) karyotypes. Analysis focused mainly on 54 children who were diagnosed prenatally or on the basis of other medical concerns in childhood (Low Bias subgroup), to minimise ascertainment bias...

Although the DSM-5 has recently created a single category of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), delineation of its putative subtypes remains clinically useful. For this process, screening instruments should ideally be brief, simple, and easily available. The aim of this study is to describe the validity of one such instrument. We administered the Michigan Autism Spectrum Questionnaire (MASQ), a 10-item questionnaire, to 42 patients with ASD (age range 6-13 years, mean 9.7 years, SD 2.5, one female) and 18 patients with other psychiatric disorders (age range 6-17 years, mean 11...

This study involved 10 adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who were referred to a specialized developmental disability clinic and were being treated for periods extending to years. Checks included past diagnoses, the chief complaint at the first examination, psychiatric symptoms, medication, employment, and whether a diagnosis of ASD would have been possible during their formative years. Their age at referral was 21-30 and, at the time of this study, they were aged 25-40. There were eight males and two females, and their treatment periods were between four and 16 years...

The fifth edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) (APA in diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Author, Washington, 2013) has decided to merge the subtypes of pervasive developmental disorders into a single category of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on the assumption that they cannot be reliably differentiated from one another. The purpose of this review is to analyze the basis of this assumption by examining the comparative studies between Asperger's disorder (AsD) and autistic disorder (AD), and between pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS) and AD...

The present paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on children and adolescents with gender identity disorder. The organizational framework underlying this review is one that presents gender behavior in children and adolescents as a continuum rather than as a dichotomy of normal versus abnormal categories. Theories of normative gender development, prevalence, assessment, developmental trajectories, and comorbidity were investigated. There is a greater fluidity and likelihood of change in the pre-pubertal period...

We followed up 67 children with autistic disorder (AD) and 31 children with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS) for more than 10 years by reviewing medical records at a clinic for children with developmental disabilities. The participants' data were collected between their first visit to the clinic and the visit at which they applied for basic disability benefits. The standardized IQ scores and autistic symptoms were examined as measures of the children's personal functioning. For environmental factors, we examined the participants' educational placements and work and residential status...

We recently encountered a patient with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS), in whom complication by social anxiety disorder (SAD) was diagnosed at age 19, and who responded well to fluvoxamine therapy. The patient was a 19-year, 10-month-old male. He first visited our department at the age of 11 years and 3 months with the chief complaint of maladaptive behavior at school, when he was diagnosed as having PDDNOS. He was subsequently managed as an outpatient, with symptomatic alleviation in response to treatment...

BACKGROUND: Many studies have focused on specific motor signs in autism and Asperger's syndrome, but few has been published on the complete range of neurological soft signs (NSS) in children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Scarce are the studies evaluating NSS in children suffering from PDD not otherwise specified (PDDNOS). METHODS: This study compared performance of 11 autistic children (AD) and 10 children with PDDNOS, with controls matched on age, sex and cognitive performance on Krebs et al...

The goal of this review was to examine the state of Level 2, caregiver-completed rating scales for the screening of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in individuals above the age of three years. We focused on screening accuracy and paid particular attention to comparison groups. Inclusion criteria required that scales be developed post ICD-10, be ASD-specific, and have published evidence of diagnostic validity in peer-reviewed journals. The five scales reviewed were: the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), Gilliam Autism Rating Scale/Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (GARS/GARS-2), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ), and Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS)...

BACKGROUND: Empirical studies of the structure of autism symptoms have challenged the three-domain model of impairment currently characterizing pervasive developmental disorders (PDD). The objective of this study was to assess the internal validity of the DSM as a conceptual model for describing PDD, while paying particular attention to certain subject characteristics. METHODS: Parents and teachers completed a DSM-IV-referenced rating scale for 3- to 12-year-old clinic referrals with a PDD (n = 730)...

BACKGROUND: For early detection of autism, it is difficult to maintain an efficient level of sensitivity and specificity based on observational data from a single screening. The Extraction and Refinement (E&R) Strategy utilizes a public children's health surveillance program to produce maximum efficacy in early detection of autism. In the extraction stage, all cases at risk of childhood problems, including developmental abnormality, are identified; in the refinement stage, cases without problems are excluded, leaving only cases with conclusive diagnoses...

In a geographical area of Stockholm, with a relatively large Somali immigrant population, parents as well as teachers in special schools and staff at habilitation centres have raised concerns over whether children with a Somali background are over-represented in the total group of children with autism. The aim of the study was, therefore, to investigate the prevalence of autism in children with parents from Somalia, living in Stockholm county, and to compare the prevalence in children of Somali background with that in the non-Somali group...

The classification of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is a topic of debate among clinicians and researchers with many questioning the validity of the distinction among subtypes. This manuscript examines the validity of three ASD subtypes (Autism, Asperger's, and PDDNOS) by reviewing 22 studies published between 1994 and 2006. We reviewed studies that examined differences between the subtypes in terms of clinical and demographic characteristics, neuropsychological profiles, comorbidity, and prognosis. Results largely did not support differences between autism and Asperger's disorder based on current diagnostic criteria...

This study is the first to compare the change in developmental quotient (DQ) or IQ between autistic disorder (AD) and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS) in preschool years. Forty-nine AD children and 77 PDDNOS children were evaluated at age 2 and at age > or =5. The AD children were significantly lower in DQ/IQ at initial evaluation and outcome evaluation (also with initial DQ being controlled for) than the PDDNOS children.

The goal of this paper is to illustrate the application of the tools of genetic epidemiology, particularly the family study method, to inform the classification of psychiatric disorders in adults and children. The first section describes family studies of adults designed to investigate the causes of comorbidity of anxiety and depression. The analysis of familial traits provides stronger evidence for the validity of certain sub-types of anxiety and mood disorders that co-occur within the same individual and within families...

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the variability in outcomes of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age 2. Research is needed to understand the children whose symptoms - or diagnoses - change over time. The objectives of this study were to examine the behavioral and diagnostic outcomes of a carefully defined sample of 2-year-old children with ASD, and to identify child and environmental factors that contribute to variability in outcomes at age 4. METHODS: Forty-eight children diagnosed with autism or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS) at age 2 were followed to age 4...

The aim of this study was to investigate whether children with high-functioning autism (HFA), Asperger's syndrome (AS), and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS) can be differentiated from each other and from normal controls on their neurocognitive executive functioning (EF) profile. Children with HFA and AS showed the most EF deficits. The EF profile of the PDDNOS group was more disturbed that the normal control group, but was less disturbed than the profile of the HFA and AS groups...

Non-autistic relatives of people with autistic disorder have an increased risk of social and communicative difficulties: this is known as the "broad phenotype." Better methods for characterizing the broad phenotype are needed to facilitate identification of risk genes for autism. 29 siblings of 20 children with autistic disorder, 13 siblings of 9 children with PDDNOS, and 46 typically developing control children from 26 families were assessed by parental report using the Children's Communication Checklist-2 (CCC-2)...

OBJECTIVE: Although the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV) diagnostic criteria generally discourage the diagnosis of other Axis I disorders in children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), anxiety symptoms are often observed in this clinical population. Moreover, there are some albeit limited data that suggest an association between anxiety and psychotic symptoms in children. Because co-occurring psychiatric symptoms have important clinical implications, this study examined anxiety and psychotic symptoms in children with and without PDD...