1
|
Wong LC, Hsu CJ, Wu YT, Chu HF, Lin JH, Wang HP, Hu SC, Tsai YC, Tsai WC, Lee WT. Investigating the impact of probiotic on neurological outcomes in Rett syndrome: A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled pilot study. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2024:13623613231225899. [PMID: 38361371 DOI: 10.1177/13623613231225899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Rett syndrome often involves gastrointestinal symptoms and gut microbiota imbalances. We conducted a study to explore the feasibility of probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum PS128 and the impact on neurological functions in Rett syndrome. The results of our investigation demonstrated that the supplementation of probiotic L. plantarum PS128 was feasible and well tolerated, with 100% retention rate and 0% withdrawal rate. In addition, there was only one participant who had loose stool after taking L. plantarum PS128. Further, there was a tendency to enhance overall cognitive developmental level, as assessed using Mullen Scales of Early Learning. In addition, it significantly improved dystonia, as assessed using the Burke-Fahn-Marsden Movement Scale, in comparison with the placebo group. This study provides a strong foundation for future research and clinical trials exploring the potential of L. plantarum PS128 probiotics as a complementary therapy for individuals with Rett syndrome.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lee Chin Wong
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Jui Hsu
- Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsin-Chu Branch, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Tzu Wu
- School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taiwan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hsu-Feng Chu
- Biomedical Industry Ph.D. Program, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jui-Hsiang Lin
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Pei Wang
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital YunLin Branch, YunLin, Taiwan
| | - Su-Ching Hu
- Department of Pediatrics, Cathay General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ying-Chieh Tsai
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Che Tsai
- Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wang-Tso Lee
- Department of Pediatrics, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Fourie E, Lu SC, Delafield-Butt J, Rivera SM. Motor Control Adherence to the Two-thirds Power Law Differs in Autistic Development. J Autism Dev Disord 2024:10.1007/s10803-024-06240-6. [PMID: 38280136 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-024-06240-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Autistic individuals often exhibit motor atypicalities, which may relate to difficulties in social communication. This study utilized a smart tablet activity to computationally characterize motor control by testing adherence to the two-thirds power law (2/3 PL), which captures a systematic covariation between velocity and curvature in motor execution and governs many forms of human movement. Children aged 4-8 years old participated in this study, including 24 autistic children and 33 typically developing children. Participants drew and traced ellipses on an iPad. We extracted data from finger movements on the screen, and computed adherence to the 2/3 PL and other kinematic metrics. Measures of cognitive and motor functioning were also collected. In comparison to the typically developing group, the autistic group demonstrated greater velocity modulation between curved and straight sections of movement, increased levels of acceleration and jerk, and greater intra- and inter-individual variability across several kinematic variables. Further, significant motor control development was observed in typically developing children, but not in those with autism. This study is the first to examine motor control adherence to the 2/3 PL in autistic children, revealing overall diminished motor control. Less smooth, more varied movement and an indication of developmental stasis in autistic children were observed. This study offers a novel tool for computational characterization of the autism motor signature in children's development, demonstrating how smart tablet technology enables accessible assessment of children's motor performance in an objective, quantifiable and scalable manner.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emily Fourie
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
| | - Szu-Ching Lu
- Laboratory for Innovation in Autism, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- Strathclyde Institute of Education, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
| | - Jonathan Delafield-Butt
- Laboratory for Innovation in Autism, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- Strathclyde Institute of Education, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
| | - Susan M Rivera
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yuan A, Sabatos-DeVito M, Bey AL, Major S, Carpenter KL, Franz L, Howard J, Vermeer S, Simmons R, Troy J, Dawson G. Automated movement tracking of young autistic children during free play is correlated with clinical features associated with autism. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2023; 27:2530-2541. [PMID: 37151032 DOI: 10.1177/13623613231169546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Play-based observations allow researchers to observe autistic children across a wide range of ages and skills. We recorded autistic children playing with toys in the center of a room and at a corner table while a caregiver remained seated off to the side and used video tracking technology to track children's movement and location. We examined how time children spent in room regions and whether or not they approached each region during play related to their cognitive, social, communication, and adaptive skills to determine if tracking child movement and location can meaningfully demonstrate clinical variation among autistic children representing a range of ages and skills. One significant finding was that autistic children who spent more time in the toy-containing center of the room had higher cognitive and language abilities, whereas those who spent less time in the center had higher levels of autism-related behaviors. In contrast, children who spent more time in the caregiver region had lower daily living skills and those who were quicker to approach the caregiver had lower adaptive behavior and language skills. These findings support the use of movement tracking as a complementary method of measuring clinical differences among autistic children. Furthermore, over 90% of autistic children representing a range of ages and skills in this study provided analyzable play observation data, demonstrating that this method allows autistic children of all levels of support needs to participate in research and demonstrate their social, communication, and attention skills without wearing any devices.
Collapse
|
4
|
Bey AL, Sabatos-DeVito M, Carpenter KLH, Franz L, Howard J, Vermeer S, Simmons R, Troy JD, Dawson G. Automated Video Tracking of Autistic Children's Movement During Caregiver-Child Interaction: An Exploratory Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2023:10.1007/s10803-023-06107-2. [PMID: 37642871 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-06107-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Objective, quantitative measures of caregiver-child interaction during play are needed to complement caregiver or examiner ratings for clinical assessment and tracking intervention responses. In this exploratory study, we examined the feasibility of using automated video tracking, Noldus EthoVision XT, to measure 159 2-to-7-year-old autistic children's patterns of movement during play-based, caregiver-child interactions and examined their associations with standard clinical measures and human observational coding of caregiver-child joint engagement. Results revealed that autistic children who exhibited higher durations and velocity of movement were, on average, younger, had lower cognitive abilities, greater autism-related features, spent less time attending to the caregiver, and showed lower levels of joint engagement. After adjusting for age and nonverbal cognitive abilities, we found that children who remained in close proximity to their caregiver were more likely to engage in joint engagement that required support from the caregiver. These findings suggest that video tracking offers promise as a scalable, quantitative, and relevant measure of autism-related behaviors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra L Bey
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Maura Sabatos-DeVito
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Kimberly L H Carpenter
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Lauren Franz
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke Institute for Global Health, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jill Howard
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Saritha Vermeer
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ryan Simmons
- Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jesse D Troy
- Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Geraldine Dawson
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA.
- Marcus Center for Cellular Cures, Duke University School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Bondioli M, Chessa S, Narzisi A, Pelagatti S, Zoncheddu M. Towards Motor-Based Early Detection of Autism Red Flags: Enabling Technology and Exploratory Study Protocol. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21061971. [PMID: 33799643 PMCID: PMC7998381 DOI: 10.3390/s21061971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Observing how children manipulate objects while they are playing can help detect possible autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at an early stage. For this purpose, specialists seek the so-called “red-flags” of motor signature of ASD for more precise diagnostic tests. However, a significant drawback to achieve this is that the observation of object manipulation by the child very often is not naturalistic, as it involves the physical presence of the specialist and is typically performed in hospitals. In this framework, we present a novel Internet of Things support in the form factory of a smart toy that can be used by specialists to perform indirect and non-invasive observations of the children in naturalistic conditions. While they play with the toy, children can be observed in their own environment and without the physical presence of the specialist. We also present the technical validation of the technology and the study protocol for the refinement of the diagnostic practice based on this technology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariasole Bondioli
- Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| | - Stefano Chessa
- Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| | - Antonio Narzisi
- Department of Child Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology, IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 56018 Pisa, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Susanna Pelagatti
- Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| | - Michele Zoncheddu
- Department of Computer Science, University of Pisa, Largo Pontecorvo 3, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.B.); (S.C.); (S.P.); (M.Z.)
| |
Collapse
|