Study Links Preemies With Autism Signs

(AP)  A small study of toddlers finds that about one-quarter of babies born very prematurely had signs of autism on an early screening test.

The research is preliminary since formal autism testing wasn't done. But the results are provocative, suggesting that tiny preemies may face greater risks of developing autism than previously thought.

That suggests autism may be an under-appreciated consequence of medical advances enabling the tiniest of premature babies to survive, said lead author Catherine Limperopoulos, a researcher at McGill University in Montreal and Children's Hospital in Boston.

She emphasized that the results don't mean extreme prematurity causes autism, but rather that it might be among contributing factors.

The risks associated with being born way too early have mostly been thought of as "neuromuscular, causing damage like cerebral palsy, and cognitive, like mental retardation," said Dr. Alan Fleischman, medical director at the March of Dimes.

"The study says there are also social and behavioral consequences which look like autism," Fleischman said. And he said it underscores a need for early autism screening among youngsters born very prematurely.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends autism screening for all children by age 2. Autism can't be cured but early behavior therapy can help lessen its severity.

Experts believe autism results from a combination of genes and outside influences. Some advocates believe those factors include childhood vaccines, but scientific studies have not shown that.

Previous research on autism and prematurity has generally looked back at groups of older children to see whether prematurity was more common among those already diagnosed with autism, and results have been inconsistent, said Craig Newschaffer, an autism researcher at Drexel University's School of Public Health.

Limperopoulos said her study design was more rigorous.

The study, released Wednesday and published in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics, involved 91 children aged 18 months to 2 years old. On average, they were born 10 weeks early weighing less than 4 pounds. Screening results found suspected autism in 23 children, or 25 percent.

The screening test is a 23-item checklist for parents, asking about behavior in very young children. The test is designed to screen youngsters before age 2, which is the more typical age of autism diagnosis. More comprehensive and definitive autism testing at around age 2 is recommended for those with positive screening results.

Dr. Edwin Cook, an autism researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said using the preliminary screening test in preemies may be misleading because these children typically reach developmental milestones later than their peers but often catch up.

The researchers took developmental delays associated with prematurity into account, Limperopoulos said. She said the children in the study will be followed to see how many are subsequently diagnosed with autism.

Newschaffer said there's evidence that fewer than half of children the screening test identifies as at risk of autism are later diagnosed with it.

[Marie Zarankevich]

High on the list of causes: Lack of Birth Bonding. Mammals require a bonding ritual, where the infant and mother stare at each other for some time immediately following birth. With preemies, the infant is whisked away to a neo-natal unit before ever bonding with anyone at all. Then all it sees are faces with white masks. Who wouldn''t be autistic after that? I was!

[b-easy63]

I tried to feed him myself but wasn''''t making enough milk and it ran dry, so before people slam me for giving him formula, I did try. I even pumped and took medication to increase my milk supply but it did not work for me.

Posted by NonayaBiness at 04:52 AM : Apr 02, 2008


for the next time: did you drink LOTS of water? The amount of milk made will suffer if you do not drink plenty of fluid--preferably plain water. Many women do not know this or think that they drink enough. But when my moms in a play group complained of the same thing (and 2 stopped breast feeding) it turns out that when their water intake was monitored--they were not drinking nearly enough. Both started drinking more and both were able to resume breast feeding. Breast feeding is wonderful in that it imparts potential immunities that are not to be found in formulas, also they delay some allergies to cow''s milk or the ingredients in soy based milk products.

[excoachken]

When Dr. Rosewell Park started his cancer study in the early 20th century, he was convinced that he could find THE cause within one year. The only thing that he actually did discover was that it was not one cause, but a multitude. I think that we will probably find that to be true of Autism, but each bit of research increases the public knowledge and reduces the potential number of future sufferers.

[petesis]

Seems to me Autism is fast becoming a catch all diagnosis for all sorts of developmental delays and brain damage. And the supposed "treatments" would fast bankrupt any existing health care plans.

[fibonacci_]

loool, I knew that would infuriate some.

[mythoughtsr]

I was wondering why there are so many articles on retards today...

Posted by fibonacci

and it looks like the article brought them (fibonacci for example) out in full force! When you start talking about highly intelligent, brilliant people like Autistics, you can always count on people like fibonacci to make fools of themselves.

[mythoughtsr]

The diagnosing criteria has also changed for diabetes and hypertension. Now cases that used to be considered borderline or "pre-diabetic" are lumped in with the totals. The 1 in 8 or 1 in 9 breast cancer statistics is also manipulated thusly.

Posted by Puzzler125

EXCELLENT comment. Testing, criteria, evaluation, diagnosis and treatments change and evolve with time. psy_war''s uneducated attempts and making people believe that Autism Spectrum disorder doesn''t exist is a waste of time. Sadly, there will always be people like him around, they just need to be ignored. ASD is very real! I recall the story of the triplets near me all diagnosed on the spectrum. The variations of their Autism were amazing, however, you knew right away they all had Autism on some level. The ignorance of the psy_war like people have been around for many years. He/she was probably just like those who wanted to put those with PDD away in institutions or people with Down Syndrome or MR. Hopefully, people like Jenny McCarthy and psy_war will go the way of the Dodo and we can really get down to business.

[fibonacci_]

I was wondering why there are so many articles on retards today...world autism day - duh!

[mythoughtsr]

Well at least this article talks about REAL issues unlike that C.R.A.P at cnn.com about Jenny McCarthy. She makes me want to vomit with her spew about her son being "cured". Stu.pid un.educated b.i.t.c.h going on about her son being recovered. Yeah, well she can afford premium care 24/7 unlike the rest of the real world. If her son is "recovered" he never had it in the first place. Thimerisol has been out of the shots for almost TEN YEARS people!!!!!!

psy_war, Kennedy Kreiger, one of the foremost authorities on Autism regularly refers to ASD. There are no drugs for Autism. PDD and PDD-NOS ARE on the autistic spectrum so take your fake s.p.e.w somewhere else. Maybe Jenny McCarthy needs a buddy to talk to. Just because the DSM-IV hasn''t the name inside its book doesn''t mean it doesn''t exist. You are too much.

[hypnotoad72]

Well, I was 3 months premature, lucky to be alive, appreciative to be living, and I have managed to survive, even with a PDD. Nobody''s perfect, I''ve endured plenty, I wouldn''t recommend any ASD on even my worst enemy, but we''re typically good people. If misunderstood.