1. |
- Andersen, Lisa M. J., et al.
(author)
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The Swedish Version of the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale: Revised (RAADS-R) : A Validation Study of a Rating Scale for Adults
- 2011
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - New, York, USA : Springer. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 41:12, s. 1635-1645
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- There is a paucity of diagnostic instruments for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R), an 80-item self-rating scale designed to assist clinicians diagnosing ASD in adults. It was administered to 75 adults with ASD and 197 comparison cases. Also, a subset completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Three out of four subscales had high internal consistency. Sensitivity was 91% and specificity was 93%. The ASD subjects had significantly higher mean scores on all subscales. ASD females had higher scores than ASD males on the sensory motor subscale, a dimension not included in the AQ. RAADS-R showed promising test re-test reliability.
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2. |
- Bejerot, Susanne, 1955-, et al.
(author)
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Schizotypal traits in Swedish speaking psychiatric patients and non-psychiatric controls
- 2020
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In: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0803-9488 .- 1502-4725. ; 74:5, s. 327-331
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: Recently, schizotypal personality traits were measured in a multinational sample recruited from 14 countries, however no Scandinavian cohort was included. The aim of this study was, therefore, to measure schizotypal personality traits in Swedish-speaking populations, with and without psychiatric disorders, and to investigate the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B).Methods: The SPQ-B results from 50 psychiatric patients were compared to controls (n = 202). An additional sample of 25 controls completed the full SPQ twice and we calculated test-retest reliability for SPQ and SPQ-B. We estimated the internal consistency for SPQ-B and SPQ-B factors with omega. We compared the results of SPQ-B (M and SD) in patient and control groups to corresponding results worldwide.Results: We found similarity between our SPQ-B scores and those from other published samples. SPQ-B showed good internal consistency and acceptable test-retest correlations. The results indicate that the Swedish version of the instrument is valid and can differentiate psychiatric cohorts from non-psychiatric controls.Conclusion: The Swedish version of the SPQ-B exhibit good psychometric properties and is useful for assessing schizotypal traits in clinical and non-clinical populations.
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3. |
- Manouilenko, Irina
(author)
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Autism spectrum disorder in adults : biological dimensions
- 2013
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by difficulties in social interaction, communication and the presence of repetitive or stereotyped behaviors. Previous studies have demonstrated structural and functional abnormalities in different brain regions in ASD. Motor difficulties, unusual percept ion and minor physical anomalies have been reported but not systematically investigated in the adult population with ASD and normal intelligence. In Study I, the internal consistency as well as diagnostic and concurrent validity of the Swedish version of the Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale - Revised (RAADS-R) were evaluated. The results imply that the Swedish version of the RAADS-R has good psychometric properties and is strongly correlated with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The RAADS-R captures ASD symptoms and can be used for screening of ASD as well as in the assessment of ASD in adults with normal intelligence. In Studies II and III, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was assessed by positron emission tomography (PET) in thirteen adults with ASD and ten neurotypical controls after psychiatric and neurological assessments. In comparison with the neurotypical controls, individuals with ASD showed significantly increased cerebral blood flow bilaterally in large parts of cerebellum, occipital ass ociative cortex and posterior parietal cortex. In Study III, principal components corresponding to “Autistic/ADHD symptoms”, “Sensori-motor integration” and “Intelligence/motor sequencing” were identified by factor analysis based on the normalized scores o f 13 neuropsychological measures. The positive correlation between “Autistic/ADHD traits” and rCBF in the caudate indicates a possible association of CBF changes with the executive impairments and ritualistic or stereotyped behaviors typical for ASD. Fur thermore, “Sensorimotor integration” was correlated with rCBF in the occipital visual cortex, reflecting an atypical visual perception often reported in ASD. Cerebral blood flow in the left thalamus was negatively correlated with all three factors which su pports the implication of this brain region in the pathophysiology of ASD. Autistic traits and ADHD symptoms were associated with shared neural substrates whereas sensory-motor deficits were grouped in another independent factor and correlated with rCBF in other regions. In Study IV, minor physical anomalies (MPAs) were investigated in 53 individuals with ASD and 50 age - and gender matched controls. The ASD group showed significantly more MPAs in comparison to the control group. Moreover, MPAs were correlat ed with severity of symptoms and overall functioning according to the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). On the whole, various behavioral, cognitive, neurological and morphological signs are suggested to converge into the ASD phenotype. Thus, in order to understand the complexity of ASD it seems meaningful to include assessment of ADHD symptoms, subtle neurological abnormalities and minor physical anomalies in the clinical evaluation of adults with ASD.
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4. |
- Manouilenko, Irina, et al.
(author)
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Autistic traits, ADHD symptoms, neurological soft signs and regional cerebral blood flow in adults with autism spectrum disorders
- 2013
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In: Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. - Oxon, United Kingdom : Elsevier. - 1750-9467 .- 1878-0237. ; 7, s. 566-578
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The resting regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns related to co-occurring symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, neurological soft signs and motor problems have not yet been disclosed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this study thirteen adults with ASD and ten matched neurotypical controls underwent PET. The scores of rating scales for autistic traits, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and neurological soft signs were included in a factorial analysis and correlated with rCBF. Factors corresponding to “autistic/ADHD traits”, “sensory-motor integration” and “intelligence/motor sequencing” were identified. In the ASD group, positive correlations with CBF were found for “autistic/ADHD traits” in caudate bilaterally and the inferior parietal lobule, for “sensory-motor integration” in parieto-occipital cortex and for “intelligence/motor sequencing” in the right temporal cortex. Notably, CBF in the left thalamus correlated negatively with all three factors. Autistic traits and ADHD symptoms were associated with shared neural substrates. The correlation between “autistic/ADHD traits” and rCBF in the caudate is possibly associated with the executive impairments and ritualistic/stereotyped behaviors apparent in ASD. Furthermore, sensory-motor deficits were correlated with rCBF in the occipital visual cortex, involved in atypical visual perception in ASD. Various behavioral and neurological symptoms are suggested to converge into the ASD phenotype.
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5. |
- Manouilenko, Irina, et al.
(author)
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Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials for diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders in adults : A blinded study
- 2017
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In: Psychiatry Research. - Clare, Ireland : Elsevier. - 0165-1781 .- 1872-7123. ; 257, s. 21-26
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of the present study was to examine the clinical utility of complex auditory brainstem response (c-ABR) and investigate if c-ABR is helpful in the diagnostic procedure. Thirty-one adult psychiatric patients, thoroughly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n=16), ADHD (n=8), or schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) (n=7) and 15 healthy controls (HC), were blindly assessed with SensoDetect BERA. This c-ABR correctly identified psychiatric diagnoses in 4 patients (13%) and provided partially correct diagnoses in 11 more patients. Of the 15 HC, 6 were misclassified as psychiatric patients. The Cohen´s kappa coefficient (κ) was substantial for HC (κ=0.67), fair for SSD (κ=0.37), slight for ADHD (κ=0.09) and without agreement in ASD (κ=-0.03). In conclusion, we found the c-ABR method unhelpful and unreliable as a tool in clinical diagnostics.
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6. |
- Manouilenko, Irina, et al.
(author)
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Minor physical anomalies in adults with autism spectrum disorder and healthy controls
- 2014
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In: Autism Research and Treatment. - New York, USA : Hindawi Publishing Corporation. - 2090-1925 .- 2090-1933.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Minor Physical Anomalies (MPAs) are subtle abnormalities of the head, face, and limbs, without significant cosmetic or functional impact to the individual. They are assumed to represent external markers of developmental deviations during foetal life. MPAs have been suggested to indicate severity in mental illness and constitute external markers for atypical brain development. Higher frequencies of MPAs can be found in children with autism. The aims of the present study were to examine the prevalence and patterns of MPAs in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to investigate whether MPAs are associated with symptom severity and overall functioning. Fifty adults with ASD and intelligence within the normal range and 53 healthy controls were examined with the Waldrop scale, an instrument for assessing MPAs. Face and feet were photographed enabling blinded assessment. Significant differences between the ASD and the control group were found on the MPA total scores, and also in the craniofacial region scores. Moreover, the shape of the ears was associated with autistic traits, in the ASD group. High MPA total scores were associated with poorer functioning. The findings suggest a link between MPAs, autistic traits, and level of functioning. Assessment of MPAs may assist in the diagnostic procedure of psychiatric disorders.
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7. |
- Manouilenko, Irina, et al.
(author)
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Sukhareva-Prior to Asperger and Kanner
- 2015
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In: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0803-9488 .- 1502-4725. ; 69:6, s. 1761-1764
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As early as 1926, the Kiev-based child psychiatrist Grunya Efimovna Sukhareva (1891-1981) published a detailed description of autistic traits in a number of children in a scientific German psychiatry and neurology journal. She initially used the term schizoid (eccentric) psychopathy but later replaced it with autistic (pathological avoidant) psychopathy to describe the clinical picture of autism. Her original article was available almost two decades before the case reports of Asperger and Kanner; nevertheless, Sukhareva's pioneer work has been greatly overlooked. Here we present her description of autistic psychopathy in relation to the DSM-5 criteria of today.
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8. |
- Pagani, Marco, et al.
(author)
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Brief Report : alterations in cerebral blood flow as assessed by PET/CT in adults with autism spectrum disorder with normal IQ
- 2012
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - New York, USA : Springer. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 42:2, s. 313-318
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Specific biological markers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have not yet been established. Functional studies have shown abnormalities in the anatomo-functional connectivity of the limbic-striatal "social" brain. This study aimed to investigate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) at rest. Thirteen patients with ASD of normal intelligence and ten IQ-, sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HC) underwent PET/CT using [1-(11)C]butanol, a perfusion tracer. As compared to HC, ASD showed significant CBF increases in the right parahippocampal, posterior cingulate, primary visual and temporal cortex, putamen, caudatus, substantia nigra and cerebellum. No statistically significant correlation between CBF and IQ was found. The limbic, posterior associative and cerebellar cortices showed increased blood flow in ASD, confirming previous findings about the neurobiology of ASD.
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