Autism and Mental Retardation of Young Children in China

To understand the prevalence and rehabilitation status of autism and mental retardation in China. Methods Screening test and clinical assessment were conducted for the diagnosis of autism and mental retardation. The assessment included investigation of the histories of medical conditions and development of these two disorders, utilization and needs for the rehabilitation service, and related intellectual and behavioral appraisal. Results Among the 7345 children investigated, the prevalence of autism disorder was 1.10 cases per 1000 children aged 2-6 years （95% CI=0.34 to 2.54）, and the prevalence of mental retardation was 10.76 cases per 1000 children （95% CI=8.40 to 13.12）. All the children suffering from autistic disorder were intellectually disabled, whereas 31.0% of the non-autism mental retardates had other disabilities. The medical conditions prior to birth and perinatal period were important potential factors for autism. Half of the autistic children and 84% of the children with non-autism mental retardation had never received any rehabilitative service. Conclusions The prevalence of autistic disorder in children aged 2-6 years in Tianjin is rather high. It is urgent to improve the status of the autistic and intelligently disabled young children in China. In order to upgrade the level of early diagnostic and improve the intervention to autism and mental retardation, public awareness and training courses should be heightened.

Autism with dysphasia accompanied by mental retardation caused by FOXP1 exon deletion:A case report

BACKGROUND Forkhead box protein 1(FOXP1)(OMIM:605515)at chromosomal region 3p14.1 plays an important regulatory role in cell development and functions by regulating genetic expression.Earlier studies have suggested that FOXP1,an oncogene,is capable of initiating tumorigenicity depending on the cell type.FOXP1 also plays an important role in regulating the cell development and functions of the immune system,e.g.,regulating B-cell maturation and mononuclear phagocyte differentiation,and in the occurrence and development of various immune diseases.The mRNA of this gene is widely expressed in humans,and its differential expression is related to numerous diseases.CASE SUMMARY A 5-year-old boy mainly presented with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and developmental retardation accompanied by gait instability and abnormal facial features(low-set ears).DNA samples were extracted from the child’s and his parents’peripheral blood to detect whole-exome sequences and whole-genome copy number variations.Results revealed heterozygous deletions of exon 6-21 of FOXP1 gene in the child.Physical examination upon admission showed that the child was generally in good condition,had a moderate nutritional status,a slightly slow response to external stimuli,equally large and equally round bilateral pupils,was sensitive to light reflection,and had poor eye contact and joint attention.He had no meaningful utterance and could not pronounce words properly.He was able to use gestures to simply express his thoughts,to perform simple actions,and to listen to instructions.He had no rash,cafe-au-lait macules,or depigmentation spots.He had thick black hair and low-set ears.He had highly sensitive skin,especially on his face and palms.He had no abnormal palm fingerprint.Cardiopulmonary and abdominal examinations revealed no abnormalities.He had normal limb muscle strength and tension.He showed normal tendon reflexes of both knees.His bilateral Babinski and meningeal irritation signs were negative.He had a normal male vulva.CONCLUSION We report the characteristic features of autism with dysphasia accompanied by mental retardation caused by FOXP1 exon deletion.This study provides a molecular basis for etiological diagnosis and treatment of the child,as well as for genetic counseling for the pedigree.

GABAB receptor upregulates fragile X mental retardation protein expression in neurons

Aim Fragile X mental retardation protein （FMRP） is an RNA-binding protein important for the control of translation and synaptic function. The mutation or silencing of FMRP causes Fragile X syndrome （FXS） , which leads to intellectual disability and social impairment. γ-aminobutyric acid （GABA） is the major inhibitory neuro- transmitter of the mammalian central nervous system, and its metabotropic GABAB receptor has been implicated in various mental disorders. The GABAB receptor agonist baclofen has been shown to improve FXS symptoms in a mouse model and in human patients, suggesting the role of GABAB receptor on FMRP regulation. Here we investi- gated the signaling events linking the GABAB receptor and FMRP. Methods Western blot was used in this study to detect protein expression and kinase phosphorylation in cerebellar granule neurons. For key molecules in signal- ling pathway, RNAi was used in MEFs to confirm the results in neurons. Results GABAB receptor activation up- regulated cAMP response element binding protein-dependent Fmrp expression in cultured mouse cerebellar granule neurons via two distinct mechanisms： the transactivation of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor and activation of protein kinase C. In addition, a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAB receptor, CGP7930, stimulated Fmrp expression in neurons. Conclusion These results suggest a role for GABAB receptor in Fmrp regulation and a po- tential interest of GABAB receptor signaling in FXS improvement.

Numerical Simulation on Radon Retardation Behavior of Covering Floats in Radon-Containing Water

Objective This study aimed to efficiently reduce the release of radon from water bodies to protect the environment.Methods Based on the sizes of the experimental setup and modular float,computational fluid dynamics(CFD)was used to assess the impact of the area coverage rate,immersion depth,diffusion coefficient,and radon transfer velocity at the gas–liquid interface on radon migration and exhalation of radon-containing water.Based on the numerical simulation results,an estimation model for the radon retardation rate was constructed.The effectiveness of the CFD simulation was evaluated by comparing the experimental and simulated variation values of the radon retardation rate with the coverage area rates.Results The effect of radon transfer velocity on radon retardation in water bodies was minor and insignificant according to the appropriate value;therefore,an estimation model of the radon retardation rate of the coverage of a radon-containing water body was constructed using the synergistic impacts of three factors:area coverage rate,immersion depth,and diffusion coefficient.The deviation between the experimental and simulated results was<4.3%.Conclusion Based on the numerical simulation conditions,an estimation model of the radon retardation rate of covering floats in water bodies under the synergistic effect of multiple factors was obtained,which provides a reference for designing covering floats for radon retardation in radoncontaining water.

Correlating fine motor function to cognitive competence in children with mental retardation An analysis of 42 cases

BACKGROUND： In clinical practice, the degree of cognitive competence damage correlates to fine motor function deficits in children with psychomotor development retardation. Clear correlations between the two can help to develop and perform corresponding functional training for children with mental retardation （MR）. OBJECTIVE： This study was designed to evaluate and analyze the correlation of fine motor function to cognitive competence in MR children using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale-Fine Motor （PDMS-FM） and Symbolic Play Test. DESIGN： Scale evaluation and correlation analysis. SETTING： Children＇s Rehabilitation Center ＆ Huajing District Hospital, Children＇s Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University. PARTICIPANTS： A total of 42 MR children, 28 males and 14 females, aged 14-69 months, were admitted to the Rehabilitation Center, Children＇s Hospital, Fudan University between June 2003 and April 2006, and were recruited for this study. All children corresponded to MR diagnosis criteria determined by Chinese Neurology and Psychiatry Society in 1989. Written informed consent for participating in the evaluation and for evaluated content was obtained from each child＇s guardian. METHODS： Subsequent to admission and prior to treatment, fine motor function of each MR child was evaluated using PDMS-FM （Chinese version）. The scale captured 98 items that formed the grasping （Gr） and visual-motor integration （Vi） subtests. Cognitive competence was evaluated using the Symbolic Play Test （Chinese version）, which captured four 6-item specific contents. The original score of each subtest was used to evaluate results for statistical analysis. Higher scores from the two evaluations indicated stronger abilities. Pearson correlation analysis was applied for analyzing data correlation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Fine motor function was evaluated using PDMS-FM. Cognitive competence was measured using the Symbolic Play Test. Correlations between results from the two evaluations were analyzed. RESULTS： All 42 MR children were included in the final analysis. Correlation analysis results demonstrated significant positive correlations of original scores existed between Gr and Vi subtests in the PDMS-FM （r = 0.761, P 〈 0.01）, and between Vi and Gr subtests in PDMS-FM and Symbolic Play Test （r = 0.663, 0.450, P 〈 0.01）. CONCLUSION： Fine motor function closely correlates to cognitive competence in MR children. This indicates fine motor function training should be developed in combination with cognitive competence training.

Molecular Genetic Analysis of Partial 9p Trisomy in Two Chinese Families with Mental Retardation and Facial Anomaly

Mental retardation is defined by significant limitations in intellectual function and adaptive behavior that occur before 18 years of age.Many chromosomal diseases come with mental retardation.We reported two Chinese families with partial trisomy 9p and other chromosome partial monosomy,clinical features of mental retardation and mild facial and pinkie anomalies.In the family 1,we showed that the proband carried a trisomy 9p21.3→pter and monosomy 21q22.3→qter by using fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis.Molecular genetic analysis defined the precise breakpoint on chromosome 9p between markers D9S1846 and D9S171,an interval of about 2.9 Mb on 9p21.3,and the breakpoint on chromosome 21q between markers D21S1897 and D21S1446,a region of about 1.5 Mb on 21q22.3.In the family 2,a patient with trisomy 9p21.3→pter and monosomy 5p15.33→pter,and a de novo maternal balanced translocation between chromosomes 5 and 9 was identified in his mother.Cytogenetic and molecular genetic analysis defined the precise breakpoints on chromosome 9p21.3 and chromosome 5p15.33.Further clinical investigation found that any individual had no refractoriness eczema disease except the proband in this family.These results further implicate that trisomy 9p is associated with mental retardation,and that there may be key gene duplication on chromosome 9p21.3→9pter responsible for mental retardation and mild facial anomaly.This result has been applied successfully in prenatal diagnosis of the second family.

Primed In Situ Labeling Technique for Subtelomeric Rearrangements in 70 Children with Idiopathic Mental Retardation

Subtelomeric rearrangements contribute to idiopathic mental retardation （MR）, but most children with idiopathic MR do not show any chromosome abnormalities with standard cytogenetic analysis. The primed in situ labeling （PRINS） technique, using an oligonucleotide primer complementary to the telemetric repeat sequences （TTAGGG）, can identify chromosome telomeric abnormality （deletion） in idiopathic MR children. In this study, seventy children with idiopathic MR were enrolled and subjected to PR1NS. The results showed normal karyotype in all the children, subtelomeric rearrangements （lq del and 4q del） in 2 cases, which was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization （FISH）. It was concluded that PRINS is effective for the detection of subtelomeric rearrangements and may become a routine technique for cytogenetical abnormality screening.

Sleep disturbances and psychomotor retardation in the prediction of cognitive impairments in patients with major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND Symptoms of depression and comorbid anxiety are known risk factors for cognitive impairment in major depressive disorder(MDD).Understanding their relationships is crucial for developing targeted interventions to mitigate cognitive impairments in MDD patients.We expect that the severity of sleep disturbances and other depressive symptoms will be positively correlated with the degree of cognitive impairments.We also hypothesize that anxiety symptoms,especially psychic anxiety,is a key factor in predicting cognitive performance in MDD patients and may indirectly contribute to cognitive impairment by affecting sleep disturbances and other potential factors.AIM To determine which dimension of the depressive and anxiety symptoms predicts cognitive impairment during a depressive episode.METHODS A comprehensive neurocognitive test battery assessed executive function,attention,processing speed,and memory in 162 medication-free MDD patients and 142 matched healthy controls.The 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale was used to assess depressive symptoms,and the 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Scale was used to assess anxiety symptoms.Linear regression analyses and mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of depressive and anxiety symptoms,as well as their interactions,on cognitive impairments.RESULTS Among the depressive symptoms,sleep disturbances were associated with poorer executive function(P=0.004),lower processing speed(P=0.047),and memory impairments(P<0.001),and psychomotor retardation(PR)was associated with lower processing speed in patients with MDD(P=0.019).Notably,PR was found to mediate the impact of sleep disturbances on the processing speed.Regarding anxiety symptoms,psychic anxiety,rather than somatic anxiety,was associated with cognitive impairments in all aspects.Sleep disturbances mediated the effect of psychic anxiety on executive function[β=-0.013,BC CI(-0.027,-0.001)]and memory[β=-0.149,BC CI(-0.237,-0.063)],while PR mediated its effect on processing speed(β=-0.023,BC CI(-0.045,-0.004)].CONCLUSION Sleep disturbances may be a key predictor of poorer executive function,lower processing speed,and memory loss,while PR is crucial for lower processing speed during a depressive episode.Psychic anxiety contributes to all aspects of cognitive impairments,mediated by sleep disturbances and PR.

A STUDY ON CNV OF PATIENTS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

Objective: To investigate the variations of contingent negative variation (CNV) of petients with mental retardation. Methods: The CNV was recorded in 16 children with mental retardation (MR) and 14 healthly age-matched controls. And CNV retest was carried out in 11 children with MR after one yeat treatment of Piracetam. Results: Compared with the normal control, the CNV of MR group showed prolonged postimperative negative variation (PINV) duration (P＜0.01) and total A-C duration (P ＜ 0.01), decreased amplitude B (P＜0.01 ), and reduced preimperative A-S2 area (P＜0.01). A comparison of the CNV of MR group was made between before and after one year treatment of Piracetam and no significant difference was found. Conclusions:The significant CNV variations were found in children with MR and these abnormal changes presisted throughout the Piracetam treatment.

INFLUENCE OF ACUPUNCTURE ("JIN'S SAN ZHEN") ON BRAINSTEM EVOKED POTENTIALS IN MENTAL RETARDATION CHILDREN

Objective: To investigate the effect of acupuncture ("JIN’s San Zhen") on infantile mental retardation (MR). Methods: 44 cases of MR children were attributed to treatment group and 39 normal children to control group. P 3 (event related potential) and brainstem evoked potentials were used as the indexes. Acupoints "Si shen Zhen", "Head Zhi San Zhen", "Hand Zhi San Zhen", "Foot Zhi San Zhen" were punctured with filiform needles, and stimulated by manipulating the needle once every 5 minutes with uniform reinforcing reducing method. The treatment was conducted once daily, 6 times every week, with 4 months being a therapeutic course. Results: In comparison with normal children, the latency of P 3 was longer and its amplitude lower in MR children. After 4 months’ acupuncture treatment, the latency was shortened and the amplitude increased significantly in comparison with pre treatment (P<0.01, 0.05). Results of the total intelligence quotient (TIQ) evaluation showed a 70.3% coincidence rate compared with improvement of P 3. Conclusion: Changes of P 3 and BAEP(brain auditory evoked potential) after acupuncture treatment may be related to the effect of "JIN’s San Zhen" in bettering clinical symptoms and signs of MR infantile patients.

Periodontal Tissue Status among Mental Retardation Patients with Fixed Prosthodontic Appliances

Background: The mental, physical and social impediments cause limitation of chances in normal life as an equal level with others of the community;particularly in relation to maintain good oral hygiene and periodontal health among the disabled patients who were receiving fixed partial denture. So the present study was performed to evaluate the periodontal tissue status among mental retardation patients with fixed prosthodontic appliances. Subjects and Methods: A total of 400 patients between the ages 18 and 50 years were clinically selected from outpatient clinics, college of dentistry, King Khalid University and rehabilitation center in Abha city, Saudi Arabia. They were divided into two equal groups as the following: group I: Two hundred mental retardation patients without fixed prosthodontic appliances (control group) and, group II: Two hundred mental retardation patients had fixed prosthodontic appliances for at least a year ago. A complete periodontal clinical examination was performed and the following indices were recorded: plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), and clinical attachment loss (CAL). All data was recorded and analyzed by ANOVA test. Results: The clinical results of the present study confirmed the relationship among the mental retardation, fixed prosthodontic appliances and destruction of periodontal tissues. It has been found that the severity of periodontal disease increases among the study group compared to the control group. Statistically significant differences were found in PLI, GI and CAL in the comparison between group I and II (p Conclusion: There was a negative relationship between mental retardation with a status of periodontal tissues and oral hygiene among the patients under fixed prosthodontic management.

Prevalence of Mental Retardation in Children of Shimoga District—An Overview

Background: Mental retardation is an important condition in children. People in the community need to be aware of the presence, need to act and prevent this problem. Mental retardation means mental growth of the child is not at par with physical growth. Mental retardation is calculated as intelligence quationent. (IQ) = Mental age/chronological age × 100. There are causes and can be categorized as prenatal, natal and postnatal factors. Mental retardation is classified as Mild Mental retardation IQ of 51 - 70;Moderate Mental retardation IQ of 36 - 50;Severe Mental retardation IQ of 21 - 35;Profound Mental retardation IQ of less than 20. IQ of 71 - 89 is designated as borderline mental retardation. Objectives: Analyzing the procured data creates awareness in the society regarding mental retardation and its burden to the society. Results: The analysis is done using the data provided from the office of Deputy Director, Department of Public Instruction, Sarvashikshana Abhiyana (SSA) Shimoga District [1]. 555 children were having mental retardation ranging from mild to profound severity. The total number of children with various disabilities was 1185, mental retardation alone was nearing 50% of the total disabilities. Conclusion: 50% of total disability was found to be mental retardation which needs to proliferate.

Metaverse for mental health disorders:Opportunities and challenges

Several articles on the mental health impact of the metaverse and the need to balance its potential benefits with the risks of metaverse use has recently published.The metaverse consists of a combination of immersive technologies and artificial intelligence algorithms.The metaverse differs from the preceding digital psychiatric interventions due to its complex structure and interactions between components.The diverse functions of the metaverse ensure that it may have a substantial impact on mental health.However,the evidence for its efficacy in treating mental health disorders is limited to a few trials.The mental health benefits of immersive technologies are well-documented and suggest that metaverse-based psychiatric treatment may be similarly efficacious.The mental health risks of the metaverse are largely unknown,and it is not clear whether they will be greater than other digital psychiatric interventions.Much more research is needed to determine whether metaverse-based psychiatric treatment will meet the standards of appropriate mental healthcare.

COMPOSITE ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT OF MENTAL RETARDATION IN CHILDREN

128 children of mental retardation were diagnosed in accordance with the diagnostic stand-ards proposed by WHO in 1985. The patients were treated compositely with acupuncture, auriculo-acupoint pellet pressure and herbal plasters on acupoints, bringing about improved mental developments in intelligence quotient (IQ) and social adaptation behaviour (SAB), as evidenced by recognized intelligence tests for children.

Siblings with Autism, Mental Retardation, and Convulsions in Tuberous Sclerosis: A Case Report

A 3-year-old female patient born of consanguineous parents presented to the (development and behavioral clinic) in Taif children hospital, Western Saudai Arabia, her mother complained that her daughter had speech delay, no eye to eye contact, and was performing stereotyped behaviors (hand flapping). The girl developed convulsions at the age of 3 months and was on anticonvulsant medication since that age;her convulsions were controlled on anti-epileptic treatment. Family history revealed that the girl had a 6-year-old male sibling who developed convulsions at the age of 4 months and is on antiepileptic medications;the boy suffered also from speech delay, absent social interaction, and repetitive behaviors. On examination the girl had characteristic features of angio-fibromas, hypo-pigmented macules on the trunk and legs, and moreover the boy had similar skin features plus hypo-pigmented tufts of hair. Both cases were diagnosed as Autistic spectrum disorder, tuberous sclerosis, and mental retardation. The family needed genetic counseling, while both cases needed as soon as possible behavioral and educational strategies.

Improvement of mental retardation plus epilepsy in children following management

Objective To investigate the effective management approaches for mental retardat ion plus epilepsy in children.Method Sodium valproat 15～60mg /(kg·day)or nitrazepam0.5～1mg /(kg·day)and guanmaishu containing hyoscyam ine(0.0045～0.045mg /(kg·day)as adjuvant were administered for 1.5～2consecutive years.EEG,three di mensional Doppler ultrasonic exami nation of cerebral vessels were performed.Result Favorable therapeutic effect was obtained in 25cases(48.1%),good effect in 12cases(23.1%).Conclusion Favorable therapeutic effect of hyoscyamine i n epilepsy is correlated with improved cerebral microcirculation,cortical choline receptor blocking ,red uced con-duction between synapses.These factors all inhibit onset of epilepsy.

Evaporation Retardation by Monomolecular Layers: An Experimental Study at the Aji Reservoir (India)

It is an established fact that huge quantities of water are lost from lakes, reservoirs and soils by evaporation. This assumes greater significance in arid and semi-arid regions around the globe when a general scarcity of water is compounded by high evaporation loss from the open water surfaces of lakes and reservoirs. The use of surface covering by a monomolecular film to reduce evaporation loss from large open water surfaces offers the greatest promise among all currently available techniques. This is the only system that retains the water surface in a state that does not interfere with other uses of the body of water such as boating, navigation recreation, fish, and wildlife propagation. Various experiments and field trials worldwide have proven conclusively that the fatty alcohols and their emulsions effectively retard water evaporation and result in saving to the tune of about 20% to 50%. An experiment was carried out at the Aji Reservoir (India) using a mixture of Cetyl and Stearyl alcohol that confirmed 19.26% saving in evaporation loss. During this six-month trial, about 0.18 mcum of water was saved which otherwise might have evaporated.

Quantitative Effect of Soil Texture Composition on Retardation Factor of K^+ Transport

With six packed columns composed of < 1 μm and 5 μm～0.25 mm fractions from an Eum-Orthic An- throsol (Columns 1～6) and one column of the Eum-Orthic Anthrosol (Column 7), K～(+) transport experiments under the condition of saturated steady water flow were conducted to qualify the effects of soil texture com- position on the retardation factor (R) of K～(+) transport. The results showed that the retardation factor of K～ (+) transport in the tested soil columns greatly increased with increasing clay contents. In an attempt to use pedo-transfer function (PTF) approach in the solute transport study, a preliminary PTF was established through the six packed columns (Columns 1～6) with soil basic data including soil bulk density, volumet- ric water content and clay content to predict the retardation factor, and proved valid by the satisfactory prediction of R in Column 7.

Helicobacter pylori's virulence and infection persistence define pre-eclampsia complicated by fetal growth retardation

AIM: To better understand the pathogenic role of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in pre-eclampsia (PE), and whether it is associated or not with fetal growth retardation (FGR). METHODS: Maternal blood samples were collected from 62 consecutive pregnant women with a diagnosis of PE and/or FGR, and from 49 women with uneventful pregnancies (controls). Serum samples were evaluated by immunoblot assay for presence of specific antibodies against H. pylori antigens [virulence: cytotoxin-associated antigen A (CagA); ureases; heat shock protein B; flagellin A; persistence: vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA)]. Maternal complete blood count and liver enzymes levels were assessed at delivery by an automated analyzer. RESULTS: A significantly higher percentage of H. pyloriseropositive women were found among PE cases (85.7%) compared to controls (42.9%, P < 0.001). There were no differences between pregnancies complicated by FGR without maternal hypertension (46.2%) and controls. Importantly, persistent and virulent infections (VacA/ CagA seropositive patients, intermediate leukocyte blood count and aspartate aminotransferase levels) were exclusively associated with pre-eclampsia complicated by FGR, while virulent but acute infections (CagA positive/ VacA negative patients, highest leukocyte blood count and aspartate aminotransferase levels) specifically correlated with PE without FGR. CONCLUSION: Our data strongly indicate that persistent and virulent H. pylori infections cause or contribute to PE complicated by FGR, but not to PE without feto-placental compromise.