No abstract

Findings regarding phenotypic differences between boys and girls with ASD are mixed. We compared autism and internalizing symptoms in a sample of 8-18 year-old girls (n = 20) and boys (n = 20) with ASD and typically developing (TYP) girls (n = 19) and boys (n = 17). Girls with ASD were more impaired than TYP girls but did not differ from boys with ASD in autism symptoms. In adolescence, girls with ASD had higher internalizing symptoms than boys with ASD and TYP girls, and higher symptoms of depression than TYP girls. Girls ages 8-18 with ASD resemble boys with ASD and not TYP girls, and appear to be at increased risk for affective symptoms in the teen years.

Gastrointestinal lymphoma is the most common form of lymphoma in the cat. More recently, an ultrasonographic pattern associated with feline small cell T-cell gastrointestinal lymphoma has been recognized as a diffuse thickening of the muscularis propria of the small intestine. This pattern is also described with feline inflammatory bowel disease. To evaluate the similarities between the diseases, we quantified the thickness of the muscularis propria layer in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum of 14 cats affected by small cell T-cell lymphoma and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and 19 healthy cats. We found a significantly increased thickness of the muscularis propria in cats with lymphoma and IBD compared with healthy cats. The mean thickness of the muscularis propria in cats with lymphoma or IBD was twice the thickness than that of healthy cats, and was the major contributor to significant overall bowel wall thickening in the duodenum and jejunum. A muscularis to submucosa ratio >1 is indicative of an abnormal bowel segment. Colic lymph nodes in cats with lymphoma were increased in size compared with healthy cats. In cats with gastrointestinal lymphoma and histologic transmural infiltration of the small intestines, colic or jejunal lymph nodes were rounded, increased in size and hypoechoic.

There has been intensified interest in the neuropeptides oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) given their role in affiliative and social behavior in animals, positive results of treatment studies using OT, and findings that genetic polymorphisms in the AVP-OT pathway are present in individuals with ASD. Nearly all such studies in humans have focused only on males. With this preliminary study, we provide basic and novel information on the involvement of OT and AVP in autism with an investigation of blood plasma levels of these neuropeptides in 75 preadolescent and adolescent girls and boys ages 8–18: 40 with high-functioning ASD (19 girls, 21 boys) and 35 typically developing children (16 girls, 19 boys). We related neuropeptide levels to social, language, repetitive behavior, and internalizing symptom measures in these individuals. There were significant gender effects: Girls showed higher levels of OT while boys had significantly higher levels of AVP. There were no significant effects of diagnosis on OT or AVP. Higher OT values were associated with greater anxiety in all girls and with better pragmatic language in all boys and girls. AVP levels were positively associated with restricted and repetitive behaviors in girls with ASD but negatively (non-significantly) associated with these behaviors in boys with ASD. Our results challenge the prevailing view that plasma OT levels are lower in individuals with ASD and suggest there are distinct and sexually dimorphic mechanisms of action for OT and AVP underlying anxiety and repetitive behaviors. Lay Abstract Oxytocin (OT) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) are neuropeptides that are involved in affiliative and social behavior. Previous studies have shown that boys with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have lower levels of OT than boys without ASD, and treatment studies have found that intranasal infusions of OT increase social behaviors in mostly males with ASD. With this study, we provide basic and novel information on the involvement of OT and AVP in ASD with an investigation of blood plasma levels of these neuropeptides in 75 preadolescent and adolescent girls and boys ages 8–18: 40 with high-functioning ASD and 35 typically developing children. We related OT and AVP levels to social, language, repetitive behavior, and internalizing symptom measures in these individuals. Girls had higher levels of OT while boys had higher levels of AVP. There were no differences in OT or AVP levels between the ASD and typically developing groups. Higher OT values were associated with greater anxiety in all girls and with less impaired social language in all boys and girls. Higher levels of AVP were associated with greater restricted and repetitive behaviors in girls with ASD whereas lower levels of AVP levels were associated with lower levels of these behaviors in boys with ASD. Results challenge the prevailing view that OT levels are lower in individuals with ASD, and suggest there are distinct mechanisms of action for OT and AVP underlying ...