Efficacy of Children Neuropsychological and Behavioral Scale in Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders through a Combination of Developmental Surveillance

Objective This study aimed to explore the clinical value of Children Neuropsychological and Behavioral Scale-Revision 2016(CNBS-R2016)for Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD)screening in the presence of developmental surveillance.Methods All participants were evaluated by the CNBS-R2016 and Gesell Developmental Schedules(GDS).Spearman’s correlation coefficients and Kappa values were obtained.Taking GDS as a reference assessment,the performance of the CNBS-R2016 for detecting the developmental delays of children with ASD was analyzed with receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves.The efficacy of the CNBS-R2016 to screen for ASD was explored by comparing Communication Warning Behavior with Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule,Second Edition(ADOS-2).Results In total,150 children aged 12–42 months with ASD were enrolled.The developmental quotients of the CNBS-R2016 were correlated with those of the GDS(r=0.62–0.94).The CNBS-R2016 and GDS had good diagnostic agreement for developmental delays(Kappa=0.73–0.89),except for Fine Motor.There was a significant difference between the proportions of Fine Motor,delays detected by the CNBS-R2016 and GDS(86.0%vs.77.3%).With GDS as a standard,the areas under the ROC curves of the CNBS-R2016 were above 0.95 for all the domains except Fine Motor,which was 0.70.In addition,the positive rate of ASD was 100.0%and 93.5%when the cut-off points of 7 and 12 in the Communication Warning Behavior subscale were used,respectively.Conclusion The CNBS-R2016 performed well in developmental assessment and screening for children with ASD,especially by Communication Warning Behaviors subscale.Therefore,the CNBS-R2016 is worthy of clinical application in children with ASD in China.

Comparative Analysis of Post-Rehabilitation Neuropsychological Profile of a Patient with Susac Syndrome—A Case Report

Susac Syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the clinical triad of encephalopathy, hearing loss and retinal arterial occlusions, with prevalent structural changes identified on brain magnetic resonance imaging (white matter, corpus callosum, basal ganglia region and the thalamic region extending to the midbrain) in the majority of cases, which lead to cognitive manifestations of which there is a paucity of descriptions in the literature. The objective of this case study is to compare to post-rehabilitation neurocognitive profile of a 29-year-old woman with SS presenting with compromised intellectual and motor skills and cognitive functions, together with neuropsychiatric symptoms. Better performance was found in the neuropsychological assessment, with changes in the structural cerebral network evidenced on Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) performed following the therapeutic and pharmacological intervention.

Recent Advances in HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are chronic complications of HIV infection in the central nervous system. Clinical presentations include asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI), mild neurocognitive impairment (MND), and HIV-associated dementia (HAD). In the era of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), the prevalence of HAD has significantly decreased, but the rates of ANI and MND have increased, impairing patients’ daily functioning, medical adherence, employment, driving abilities, risk of HIV transmission, overall quality of life, and posing challenges to society, economy, families, and public health. This article reviews the latest research findings regarding the pathogenesis, clinical diagnosis and treatment, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological assessment of HAND, aiming to provide insights into the prevention and management of HAND.

Absence of Ketamine Effects on Learning &Memory Following Exposure during Early Adolescence: A Preliminary Report

Traditionally, ketamine was considered useful as a dissociative anesthetic. More recently, ketamine has been examined for its effects as a fast-acting antidepressant, for treatment-resistant depression, and as a non-opiate treatment of chronic pain. Unfortunately, ketamine has enjoyed popularity as a recreational drug among both adolescents and young adults. While some research suggests the use of this drug during neurodevelopment is not without consequence, relatively little work has been conducted to examine the chronic effects of ketamine on the adolescent brain at different stages of neural development. Using a rodent model of development, we probed the effects of early adolescent exposure to ketamine. Between postnatal days 22 to 40, a period comprising early to mid-adolescence, rats were exposed to one of two doses of ketamine or saline. Beginning at 90 days of age and drug free for 50 days, a series of neuropsychological assessments were employed to examine general activity, spatial navigation, as well as nonspatial response learning. Contrary to prediction, except for differences in general activity levels, no spatial or nonspatial impairments were found among the drug- and saline-treated animals. The present results are considered in light of ketamine-associated effects found in a related study with older adolescent rats and the role of drug exposure during different points in adolescent brain development.

The Remote Testing in Abbiategrasso (RTA) Study Protocol: A Counter-Balanced Crossover Trial to Assess the Feasibility of Direct-to-Home-Neuropsychology with Older People

Background: The Sars-Cov-2 pandemic has accelerated the spreading of telemedicine, including TeleNeuroPsychology (TNP). Also in a non-pandemic scenario, TNP gives the advantage of reaching older subjects, which often have mobility or transportation limitations. Previous studies on the feasibility, acceptability and reliability of TNP provide promising indications. However, it remains unclear how elderly populations in Italy welcome this practice, in particular when carried out “direct-to-home” (DTH neuropsychology—DTH-NP), hence without assistance in setting up, i.e., the videoconference, and which tests validated in Italian populations show good comparability between remote (either by voice phone call or videoconference) and face-to-face administration. Aims: Here we present a study protocol aimed at assessing: 1) the recruitment rate in a study on DTH neuropsychological assessment through voice calls or videoconference, 2) the feasibility and acceptability of a DTH neuropsychological assessment, 3) the comparability between DTH and face-to-face neuropsychological assessments. Methods: Fifty-eight older adults (65 - 85 years) were recruited among donors of the Abbiategrasso Brain Bank and will undergo both a face-to-face and a DTH neuropsychological assessment in a counterbalanced cross-over design (Group 1: remote session first;Group 2: face-to-face session first). Recruitment rate will be first evaluated. Then, the responses to an acceptability questionnaire will be compared between the two administration modalities. Finally, the DTH-face-to-face comparability will be evaluated as good reliability of a DTH neuropsychological assessment and agreement between scores obtained in the two modalities. Discussion and Conclusion: This study protocol aims at describing the procedures allowing a more reliable implementation of DTH-NP in the Italian clinical and research contexts. The inclusion of both phone-call and videoconference DTH neuropsychological assessment will give the opportunity to evaluate the feasibility of DTH-NP also in older adults with low digital skills. The results of the comparability analysis will offer the first evidence in the Italian context on which neuropsychological tests can be reliably delivered DTH, by phone call or videoconference.

French Validation of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP-F)

Background: Measuring cognition in clinical practice is clearly essential to the appropriate characterisation of patients’ clinical status and to the development of a personalised care plan. The Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP) has been developed in order to provide a brief and accessible tool allowing the evaluation of cognitive function in psychiatric conditions. Objective: We present a validation of a French version of the SCIP. Method: Translation from English into French is carried out using the accepted back-translation method. Seventy-two healthy volunteers are characterised by demographic questionnaires and a neuropsychological battery. The French version of the SCIP is then administered on two separate occasions separated by at least a one-week interval. Results: High internal consistencies as well as strong correlations with comparable neuropsychological tests are obtained. A normalised Cronbach’s α = 0.66 is obtained. Conclusions: The French version of the SCIP (SCIP-F) yields results comparable to the English version. The SCIP represents an essential tool for the preliminary evaluation of cognition. Its characteristics, brevity and the lack of need for a technological platform, allow for its integration into clinical practice. Further testing of SCIP-F in various psychiatric conditions will yield valuable information on its potential in clinical settings.