Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism which can help design treatment strategies for such brain disorders. Yogita K. Adlakha, a recipient of INSPIRE Faculty fellowship instituted by the Department of Science and Technology, has achieved this feat, the DST said on Wednesday. INSPIRE, which stands for Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research Programmer, is a scheme by the DST for attracting talent towards science.
Its multidisciplinary approach focuses on the interactions of genes, the brain, and behavior and their effects on child development. Over the years, Dr. Escolar and her team have performed thousands of standardized evaluations on children from throughout the United States and around the world, resulting in unparalleled insights into these rare conditions.
The study included late preterm children and adolescents who had neuropsychiatric and/or neurological symptoms. They underwent a general, neurocognitive and an emotional-behavioral assessment. Exclusion criteria included: patients affected by Central Nervous System congenital abnormalities, neurodegenerative diseases, genetic disorders, epilepsy, or in pharmacological treatment, or adopted children. A descriptive statistics analysis was performed to describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients. Risk factors related to late preterm birth, prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, and cognitive functioning were recorded and analyzed.
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Based on parental responses to survey questions, approximately 15% of children in the United
States ages 3 to 17 years were affected by neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD,
learning disabilities, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, seizures, stuttering or
stammering, moderate to profound hearing loss, blindness, and other developmental delays.
Genetics can play an important role in many neurodevelopmental disorders, and some cases of
certain conditions such as intellectual disability are associated with specific genes. However,
most neurodevelopmental disorders have complex and multiple contributors rather than any
one clear cause. These disorders likely result from a combination of genetic, biological,
psychosocial and environmental risk factors. A broad range of environmental risk factors may
affect neurodevelopment, including (but not limited to) maternal use of alcohol, tobacco, or
illicit drugs during pregnancy; lower socioeconomic status; preterm birth; low birthweight; the
physical environment; and prenatal or childhood exposure to certain environmental
contaminants.
The sample included 68 LPI (45 males and 23 females) aged from 2 to 16.3 years (mean age 7,5 years), who were affected by one or more neurodevelopmental disorder, including Language Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder, Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Moreover, in 30.8% of patients, internalizing problems (affective and social skills problem) were detected.
The study included late preterm children and adolescents who had neuropsychiatric and/or neurological symptoms. They underwent a general, neurocognitive and an emotional-behavioral assessment. Exclusion criteria included: patients affected by Central Nervous System congenital abnormalities, neurodegenerative diseases, genetic disorders, epilepsy, or in pharmacological treatment, or adopted children. A descriptive statistics analysis was performed to describe the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients. Risk factors related to late preterm birth, prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders, and cognitive functioning were recorded and analyzed.
Importance of a long-term surveillance of late preterm and the great need for more longitudinal large population studies in order to collect data on the neurodevelopmental outcomes of this population.
