Childhood disorders

ASD

Autism Spectrum Disorders

What are the two criteria of ASD

1) impaired social communication

2) narrow or obsessive interests

What is the prevalence for ASD

1/68

progresses thru out lifetime

Do males have a higher risk for ASD?

Yes, 4-5x more likely

What are the causes of ASD?

genetics (twins = >50% and siblings = \~20%)

fever, infection during pregnancy

premature birth

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What has been found in children with autism disorder regarding their brain?

* abnormally large brain volumes and fast growth rates
* OR development and network inefficiencies in the back of the cerebral cortex

What are the treatments for ASD?

None, but some drugs like oxytocin and behavorial therapies

What much people are affected by ADHD?

11% of kids and 30% of those kids, there ADHD progresses thru life

What are the symptoms of ADHD?

distracted and impulsive and forgetfulness continuously

What is the cause of ADHD?

unknown, but possibly genetics- can run in families and environmental conditions, such as low birth weight, early life adversity and toxins

What are the brain differences in people with ADHD?

none

What are the treatments for ADHD?

behavorial interventions (like exercise)

stimulant medications

treatments effectiveness depend on the person

Prevalence of down syndrome?

1/700 people

What is the cause of down syndrome?

nondisjunction- trisomy 21 - risk can be increased for older individuals having kids.

What are the symptoms of down syndrom

distinct features, lower intelligence, and risk of early Alzhimer’s Disease (caused by increase in amyloid precursor proteins)

Treatment for Down syndrome?

none, maybe soon b/c of stem cell research

Brain differences in people with down syndrome?

unusual hippocampus connectivity

dysfunction of mitochondria

prevalence of dyslexia

15-20% of Americans

What are the symptoms of dyslexia?

difficulty reading,

pronunciation,

fluency,

spelling, speed,

oral language,

but typical intelligence

Where in the brain is affected in ppl with dyslexia?

* left hemisphere specifically the word form area
* right side of the brain is not affected = reading improvement

tretament for dyslexia?

* educational and behavorial interventions
* decoding
* language phonology and processing speed

Prevalence of epilepsy?

* 1% of kids
* 1.8% of adults

How to diagnose epilepsy?

2 or more seizures w/o reason

Causes of epilepsy?

genetics

premature birth

brain trauma

What are the symptoms of epilepsy?

petit mal - blinking, staring

grand mal or tonic clonic - falling, unconciousness, muscle spasms (cramps)

What are focal/partial seizures?

localized in one area of the brain

seizures can spread

What are the treatments for epilepsy ppl?

* medication
* diet change to a more ketogenic one (low carbs high protein)
* surgery

What are the types of surgery for epilepsy?

open surgery - removes legion (affected brain area) or a whole lobe - most common

Minimally invasive surgery - in one spot to treat localized lesions

RNS - put device in head at critical seizure areas and relieves patients

split-brain surgery - cutting the corpus callosum