• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.42-50
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• 2018

Objectives The purpose of this study is to report a case of one autism spectrum disorder child who was treated by Korean medicine treatment. Methods The subject was a male child with autism spectrum disorder. This patient was treated with oriental herbal medicine and acupuncture. The improvement was observed by K-CARS. Results Korean medicine treatment relieved an autism spectrum disorder child's symptoms. For example, emotional excitement, hyperactivity disorder and repetition behavior are improved. K-CARS score at the initial stage of the treatment was 48 points, which can be considered as severe autistic. After 27 months of the treatment, the K-CARS was 26 points which is not autistic. There was no side effect reported. Conclusions This study showed that Korean medicine can be an effective treatment option for autism spectrum disorder.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.28-36
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to achieve a vision for autistic children and their parents aimed at generating interest in ideas such as "Sanitas Per Aquam" (SPA), massage and music therapy, which has begun to have widespread use and to attract attention. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was carried out with autistic children and their parents from February to April 2015 in $Mu{\breve{g}}la$, Turkey. The study was began by interviewing experts in the field and by developing a suitable assessment questionnaire. In order to direct the flow of conversation between the researchers and the autisitc children and their parents, the researchers conducted semi-structured face to face interviews in a form that had been determined by using reports in the literature and the opinions of experts in the field. Results: Forty two boys (84%) and eight girls (16%) with autism participated in our study. Children in the 0 - 7 age group spent long time in the bathroom (P = 0.001). Boys liked to be hugged more than girls (P = 0.01). Children ages 0 - 7 years liked bright lighting while those 15 years of age and older liked gloomy lighting (P = 0.009). Except for these statistically significant sex- and age-related differences, no other statistically significant differences were noted in the parameters of this study. Although the result was not statistically significant, more children with mild autism disorder obeyed commands like inhale or exhale (P = 0.051). Conclusion: Treatment for autism spectrum disorders is not yet fully possible, so many studies are being done to alleviate some symptoms and to improve the quality of life for individuals with autism and their families. As a result of our study, whether touching the areas the children want touched and listening to their favorite music are required to stimulate the brain remain as questions in our minds.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.66-75
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• 1991

The authors studied chromosomal abnormalities in 38 autistic children meeting the diagnostic criteria of DSM-III-R in order to investigate genere factor in autistic disorder There were 28 males and 10 females, with the mean age being $108.8{\pm}28.5months(70-156months).$ All samples were analyzed on short-term lymphocyre cultures in Medium 199 that contained FUdR. The fragile X chromosome was not found in any of the patients. There were other chromosomal abnormalities in 14(36.8%) of 38 patients, such as breakage, 11cases ; gap, 2case ; breakage and gap, 1 case. In grouping of chromosomal abnormalities, group A patients were 4 cases ; group C were 3 cases ; group A and B was 1 case ; group A and E was 1 case ; group C and E was 1 case ; group A, B and C was 1 case. There were no statistical significance in the 16 symptoms of autistic disorder of DSM-III-R between patients with chromosomal abnormalities and patients without chromosomal abnormalites. These results do not support the hypothesis that fragile X chromosome is an etiological factor in autistic disorder.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.76-86
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• 1991

Plasma $dopamine-{\beta}-hydroxylase(DBH)$ activity was measured in 37 autistic disorders, 26 atypical pervasive developmental disorders and 23 controls, to elucidate the biological etiology in pervasive developmental disorders. The results are summarized as follows : 1) In the autistic group, the mean plasma DBH activity was significantly elevated compared to the atypical and control groups. The mean plasma DBH activity was also significantly elevated in pervasive developmental disorders(autistic disorder+atypical developmental disorder) compared to control group. 2) In the atypical and control groups, the DBH activity significantly increased with age, but in the autistic group, the DBH activity was not significantly correlated with age. 3) No significant correlation was found between the DBH activity and the severity of psychopathology. These findings support the hypothesis of a possible involvement of brain catecholamine dysfunction in the production of autistic symptoms, and this dysfunction might be due to the abnormal ontogenetic process of DBH activity in autistic disorders.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.187-195
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• 2014

Objectives : The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests (RRBI) and autistic symptoms in Korean high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children and to examine the structure of RRBI. Methods : Participants included 147 high functioning ASD subjects and 181 unaffected siblings. ASD subjects were divided into two groups based on the presence of RRBI. The domain scores of the Korean version of Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (K-ADI-R), Korean version of Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale and total scores of Korean translated version of Social Responsiveness Scale, Korean version of Social Communication Scale were used for comparison of ASD symptoms between the groups. Eleven items from the RRBI domain of the K-ADI-R were used in principal axis factor analysis (PAF). Results : A statistically lower nonverbal IQ score was observed for ASD with RRBI than for ASD without RRBIs, and more social deficit, communication deficit, and behavioral and emotional problems were observed for ASD with RRBI compared to ASD without RRBI. Using PAF, two distinct factors were identified. 'Resistance to trivial changes in environment', 'Difficulty with minor changes in personal routine & environment', and 'Compulsion/ritual' were included as one factor. Conclusion : Analysis of the data suggests that the presence of RRBI in high functioning ASD is associated with a more severe presentation of autistic disorder. In addition, there appears to be heterogeneity within RRBI in autism except insistence on sameness.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.8-14
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• 2015

In patients with a language developmental delay, it is necessary to make a differential diagnosis for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), specific language impairment, and mental retardation. It is important that pediatricians recognize the signs and symptoms of ASDs, as many patients with language developmental delays are ultimately diagnosed with ASDs. Pediatricians play an important role in the early recognition of ASDs, because they are usually the first point of contact for children with ASDs. A revision of the diagnostic criteria of ASDs was proposed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) that was released in May 2013. The autism spectrum describes a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders in the fifth edition of the DSM. The new diagnostic criteria encompasses previous elements from the diagnosis of autistic disorder, Asperger disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified. An additional change to the DSM includes synthesizing the section on social and communication deficits into one domain. In ASD patients, the appropriate behavioral therapies and rehabilitation treatments significantly affect the prognosis. Therefore, this makes early diagnosis and treatment very important. In conclusion, pediatricians need to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of ASDs and be attentive to them in order to make an early diagnosis and provide treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.41-53
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• 1994

In 1944 Hans Asperger reported odd bizzare 400 children who showed autism like clinical symptoms but had higher intelligence and relatively intact speech function. He named these child 'autistic psychopathy'. Since them there were many controversial views about this syndrome. Some regards Asperger syndrome as the high functioning autism variant or preschizophrenic childhood condition or childhood form of schizoid personality disorder. Though there were still many controversy, recently ICD-10, DSM-IV accepted Asperger's syndrome as a distinct subtype of pervasive developmental disorder. The authors reviewed the history and conceptual changes of Asperger syndrome and summarized the interesting recent research findings. In addition, the authors argue that this syndrome has some linkage with autism and schizoid personality disorder and proposed that these is disorders do have common defect in social instinctual development.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2015

De novo variants (DNVs) can arise during parental germ cell formation, fertilization, and the processes of embryogenesis. It is estimated that each individual carries 60-100 such spontaneous variants in the genome, most of them benign. However, a number of recent studies suggested that DNVs contribute to the pathogenesis of a variety of human diseases. Applications of DNVs include aiding in clinical diagnosis and identifying disease-causing genetic factors in patients with atypical symptoms. Therefore, understanding the roles of DNVs in a trio, with healthy parents and an affected offspring, would be crucial in elucidating the genetic mechanism of disease pathogenesis in a personalized manner.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.87-96
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• 1991

A double bhad, placebo controlled study was performed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of Carbamazepine in autistic children, 23 boys with the diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorders according to the DSM-IIIR were selected for study subjects, from Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Outpatient Department of Seoul National University Children Hospital during Oct. $1989{\sim}Nov.$ 1991. Subjects with histories of medical disease or psychiatric diseases were excluded and all study subjects had drug free periods more than 2 Months. Study subjects were randomly assigned to Cabamazepine treatment group(N=12) and placebo group(N=11). After the baseline observation periods, the double blind drug treatment and observation were performed for 12 weeks. Several scales (Ritvo-Freedman Real Life atring Scale. Behavior Checklist) were employed to evaluate the effects of drug treatment during baseline observation periods and the drug treatment periods by two raters blind to the study. Interrater reliability of each scales were .4875~.6613, the socrodemographic variables and the rating scores during baseline observation periods were not significantly different between two groups. Reduction of total scores in Autsm Behavior Checklist scale, i.e.. improvement of global autistic symptoms were noted significantly in Carbamazepine treatment group. Improvement in significant social maturations according to Vineland Social Mataration scale were observed in both patient groups after drug treetment periods.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.207-243
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• 2016

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social and communication impairments, as well as repetitive and restrictive behaviors. The phenotypic heterogeneity of ASD has made it overwhelmingly difficult to determine the exact etiology and pathophysiology underlying the core symptoms, which are often accompanied by comorbidities such as hyperactivity, seizures, and sensorimotor abnormalities. To our benefit, the advent of animal models has allowed us to assess and test diverse risk factors of ASD, both genetic and environmental, and measure their contribution to the manifestation of autistic symptoms. At a broader scale, rodent models have helped consolidate molecular pathways and unify the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying each one of the various etiologies. This approach will potentially enable the stratification of ASD into clinical, molecular, and neurophenotypic subgroups, further proving their translational utility. It is henceforth paramount to establish a common ground of mechanistic theories from complementing results in preclinical research. In this review, we cluster the ASD animal models into lesion and genetic models and further classify them based on the corresponding environmental, epigenetic and genetic factors. Finally, we summarize the symptoms and neuropathological highlights for each model and make critical comparisons that elucidate their clinical and neurobiological relevance.