UNASSIGNED: Over the past few decades, there has been growing concern about the concurrent trends of increasing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prevalence and declining sperm quality. These trends represent significant public health challenges that warrant thorough investigation of their underlying causes and implications.
UNASSIGNED: The primary objectives of this study are to analyze trends in ASD prevalence and sperm quality parameters from 2000 to 2024, assess the statistical significance and effect size of these trends, explore potential correlations between ASD prevalence and sperm quality parameters, and identify significant predictors among sperm quality parameters that influence ASD prevalence.
UNASSIGNED: This study employed a longitudinal approach using multiple regression, time series analysis, ANOVA, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering, logistic regression, and cross-correlation analysis. Data on ASD prevalence were sourced from the CDC Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, while sperm quality data were collected from various published studies.
UNASSIGNED: The findings reveal significant negative associations between ASD prevalence and sperm quality parameters such as sperm concentration and motility, suggesting that better sperm quality is linked to lower ASD rates. Conversely, parameters like sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), volume of ejaculate, pH level, and semen viscosity show positive associations with ASD prevalence, indicating higher values in these parameters correlate with higher ASD rates.
UNASSIGNED: The study highlights the importance of maintaining reproductive health to potentially mitigate ASD risk and calls for further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving these trends. These findings support the hypothesis that reproductive health factors play a crucial role in ASD etiology and suggest potential biological markers for assessing ASD risk.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2023.1168666.].

Pica is known to the medical community as an eating disorder in which individuals may ingest non-food items due to a nutritional deficiency and cause unintentional physical harm to themselves. This article discusses the cases of children with pica in addition to other comorbidities such as trichotillomania, depression, autism, and anxiety. Both patients were trialed on typical first-line treatments to address pica symptoms, including antidepressants, psychotherapy, and neurology consults, which were ineffective in treating pica symptoms. The introduction of naltrexone resulted in significant improvements, including decreased pica symptoms and improvements in depression, anxiety, and overall behaviors. These effects of naltrexone were further bolstered by the effects that occurred when both patients discontinued naltrexone for some time.

The aim of this study is to identify autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits in adolescents who experience psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), often ignored in clinical practice but widely prevalent in the general population. A total of 57 adolescents and young adults (aged between 16 and 24 years old) were recruited consecutively in the outpatient services. A total of 37 were females (64.9%), 18 were males (31.6%), and two participants (3.5%) were non-binary or gender non-conforming, with a mean age at referral of 18.26 ± 2.06. To investigate these symptoms, three sets of standardized questionnaires were used, as follows: the Autism Spectrum Quotient-short form (AQ-10), the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42), and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS). We found significant associations between the ASRS and AQ-10 total scores and all CAPE scales. The model which explained the highest variance was CAPE Score\'s Total Frequency score (p < 0.001). Our findings underline the importance of investigating the presence of subthreshold ASD and ADHD symptoms in clinical populations, particularly in the period of adolescence and young adulthood, to promptly identify the presence of PLEs and, thus, prevent the onset of a frank psychotic disorder, particularly in the presence of a comorbid psychopathological condition, leading to better diagnosis and treatment for individuals with two or more of these conditions.

It is the current consensus amongst the psychiatric community that children undergoing evaluation for developmental delays and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should be offered genetic testing early in the diagnostic process. Identifying genetic abnormalities can provide insight into patient prognosis and may reveal other medical complications that could arise throughout a patient\'s life. Despite these recognized benefits, genetic testing is often delayed or not offered and therefore deprives families of valuable knowledge about their child\'s future health outcomes. We present a case of a six-year-old patient who presented to our child and adolescent psychiatry office for behavioral concerns. She had received an ASD diagnosis years prior to presentation, but for unknown reasons, genetic testing had never been pursued. Genetic testing was obtained in our office, and the results revealed three different mutations that were linked to ASD and various other medical complications including epilepsy. With this knowledge, the patient\'s family gained important insight into their child\'s prognosis. This case highlights the necessity for adopting a point-of-care testing (POCT) model when evaluating children with developmental delays and/or ASD. Through this model, genetic testing would be offered to families during the initial visit for these patients. This would help streamline this process and allow for more widespread detection of genetic disorders linked to ASD and coexisting medical sequelae. Having this knowledge would empower families with a better understanding of their child\'s condition and would allow families to work together with providers to determine the best possible treatment plan.

This study had two aims. First, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of ACB, PCB, and oral habits among a group of Albanian children with ASD compared with a group of children without ASD. Second, we aimed to identify the associations of ASD with ACB, PCB, and oral habits. The sample inlcuded 125 children with ASD (91 males, 34 females) from 2 special schools for children with disabilities and 2 daily residential centers in Tirana. The control group included 125 children without ASD. The relationships between categorical variables were evaluated via the chi-square test. To identify the potential risk factors for ASD, we performed binary logistic regression. No statistically significant differences were found for CB or oral habits between the primary and adolescent dentition stages. A comparison of children with ASD with CB and oral habits revealed a significant difference in the prevalence of PCB. Binary logistic regression revealed that ACB, PCB and oral habits were not associated with ASD. CB was more prevalent among children with ASD in the primary and mixed dentition stages. Oral habits were more prevalent in the mixed and adolescent dentition stages. However, ASD is not a risk factor for CB or other oral habits.

BACKGROUND:  Caring for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a challenging and stressful task, especially in countries with limited resources. Additional research is necessary, considering the increasing prevalence of children with ASD, to gain increased knowledge of the complex difficulties faced by caregivers of ASD children and to offer insights into the coping strategies and support networks that parents utilise.
OBJECTIVE:  The objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and coping mechanisms of caregivers of children with ASD in Dr Kenneth Kaunda district, North West province, South Africa.
METHODS:  Qualitative explorative, contextual and descriptive design with purposive sampling technique and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were analysed following the six steps of reflexive thematic analysis.
RESULTS:  Two themes were identified: Caregivers\' experiences in raising a child with autism, and caregivers\' coping in raising a child with autism.
CONCLUSIONS:  The research established caregivers\' experiences and coping mechanisms in raising a child with ASD and the effects on different aspects of their lives including emotional, social and financial aspects, which contribute negatively to their holistic well-being. These impediments warrant the establishment of emotional support groups, empowerment of caregivers and awareness-raising through campaigns to educate the family and the community on the diverse challenges.Contribution: The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted challenges faced by caregivers of children with ASD and provide insights into the support systems and coping mechanisms employed by these caregivers within the socio-ecological context.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is primarily characterized by core deficits in social skills, communication, and cognition and by repetitive stereotyped behaviors. These manifestations are variable between individuals, and ASD pathogenesis is complex, with over a thousand implicated genes, many epigenetic factors, and multiple environmental influences. The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) mediated brain reward system is held to play a key role, but the rapidly expanding literature reveals intricate, nuanced signaling involving a wide array of mesolimbic loci, neurotransmitters and receptor subtypes, and neuronal variants. How altered DA signaling may constitute a downstream convergence of the manifold causal origins of ASD is not well understood. A clear working framework of ASD pathogenesis may help delineate common stages and potential diagnostic and interventional opportunities. Hence, we summarize the known natural history of ASD in the context of emerging data and perspectives to update ASD reward signaling. Then, against this backdrop, we proffer a provisional framework that organizes ASD pathogenesis into successive levels, including (1) genetic and epigenetic changes, (2) disrupted mesolimbic reward signaling pathways, (3) dysregulated neurotransmitter/DA signaling, and finally, (4) altered neurocognitive and social behavior and possible antagonist/agonist based ASD interventions. This subdivision of ASD into a logical progression of potentially addressable parts may help facilitate the rational formulation of diagnostics and targeted treatments.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1226580.].

Introduction  It is widely recognized that the prevalence and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more common in males than in females. Despite this, there is a significant gap in the body of autism research that investigates gender differences for treatment effects of applied behavior analysis (ABA) across a variety of measured variables. This research aims to comprehensively evaluate gender distinctions concerning target behavioral objectives, goals, and deficit variables. Materials and methods This study analyzed retrospective data from 100 participants, including 89 juveniles and four adults, with seven cases lacking age documentation, who underwent a three-month ABA program from March 19 to June 11, 2023. The ABA program included various methodologies such as functional analysis, discrete trial training, mass trials, and naturalistic training. Data on outcome measures, including target behavioral proficiency, age, average trials to proficiency, average teaching days to proficiency, open behavioral objectives, and target trends, were collected using the \"Catalyst\" software (Catalyst Software Corporation, New York, NY). Participant demographics were summarized using statistical analyses for categorical (gender and race/ethnicity) and continuous variables (percentage of mastered behavioral objectives, age, average trials, average teaching days, open objectives, percentage of failed objectives during maintenance, percentage of objectives with upward, downward, and flat trends). These statistics included mean, standard deviation, median, and range and were analyzed inferentially using nine separate two-sample independent t-tests and corresponding effect sizes using Cohen\'s d. Results There were no statistically significant disparities based on gender (p > 0.05) across all nine variables examined: Percentage of Targets Mastered, Age, Average Trials to Mastery, Average Teaching Days to Mastery, Open Targets, Percentage of Targets Failed in Maintenance, Percentage of Targets Trending Up, Percentage of Targets Trending Down, and Percentage of Targets Trending Flat, and wide confidence intervals were detected. Conclusions  Non-significant gender differences in response to ABA treatments regarding these nine behavioral goals, mastery, and deficit variables may be relevant. They suggest that ABA treatments could be equally beneficial for both male and female autistic individuals. These results should be interpreted cautiously. The general pattern observed, characterized by broad confidence intervals, carries a degree of statistical uncertainty, which may suggest substantial gender differences. These results might question the prevailing beliefs about the variation in treatment response based on gender. This could profoundly impact clinical practices, implying that healthcare professionals should not favor one gender over another when suggesting ABA therapies. Instead, the treatment advice should be tailored to each child\'s unique requirements and traits, regardless of gender. The investigators expect these results to encourage additional research in this field. Comprehending the elements that affect treatment response is vital for improving treatment results and customizing care.