Anxiety and Depression in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are thought to be at disproportionate risk of developing mental health comorbidities, with anxiety and depression being considered most prominent amongst these. Yet, no systematic review has been carried out to date to examine rates of both anxiety and depression focusing specifically on adults with ASD. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the rates of anxiety and depression in adults with ASD and the impact of factors such as assessment methods and presence of comorbid intellectual disability (ID) diagnosis on estimated prevalence rates. Electronic database searches for studies published between January 2000 and September 2017 identified a total of 35 studies, including 30 studies measuring anxiety (n = 26 070; mean age = 30.9, s.d. = 6.2 years) and 29 studies measuring depression (n = 26 117; mean age = 31.1, s.d. = 6.8 years). The pooled estimation of current and lifetime prevalence for adults with ASD were 27% and 42% for any anxiety disorder, and 23% and 37% for depressive disorder. Further analyses revealed that the use of questionnaire measures and the presence of ID may significantly influence estimates of prevalence. The current literature suffers from a high degree of heterogeneity in study method and an overreliance on clinical samples. These results highlight the importance of community-based studies and the identification and inclusion of well-characterized samples to reduce heterogeneity and bias in estimates of prevalence for comorbidity in adults with ASD and other populations with complex psychiatric presentations

Evaluation of the <i>In Vitro</i> Efficacy of <i>Artemisia annua</i>, <i>Rumex abyssinicus</i>, and <i>Catha edulis Forsk</i> Extracts in Cancer and <i>Trypanosoma brucei</i> Cells

The current drugs against sleeping sickness are derived from cancer chemotherapeutic approaches. Herein, we aimed at evaluating the in vitro effect of alcoholic extracts of Artemisia annua (AMR), Rumex abyssinicus (RMA), and Catha edulis Forsk (CEF) on proliferation/viability of 1321N1 astrocytoma, MCF-7 breast cancer, THP-1 leukemia, and LNCaP, Du-145, and PC-3 prostate cancer cells and on Trypanosoma brucei cells. Proliferation of tumor cells was evaluated by WST-1 assay and viability/behaviour of T. brucei by cell counting and light microscopy. CEF was the most efficient growth inhibitor in comparison to AMR and RMA. Nevertheless, in LNCaP and THP-1 cells, all extracts significantly inhibited tumor growth at 3 μg/mL. All extracts inhibited proliferation of T. brucei cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Microscopic analysis revealed that 95% of the T. brucei cells died when exposed to 33 μg/mL CEF for 3 hrs. Similar results were obtained using 33 μg/mL AMR for 6 hrs. In case of RMA, however, higher concentrations were necessary to obtain similar effects on T. brucei. This demonstrates the antitumor efficacy of these extracts as well as their ability to dampen viability and proliferation of T. brucei, suggesting a common mechanism of action on highly proliferative cells, most probably by targeting cell metabolism.</jats:p

Calf health from birth to weaning. II. Management of diarrhoea in pre-weaned calves

Calfhood diseases have a major impact on the economic viability of cattle operations. The second of this three part review series considers the management of diarrhoeic diseases in pre-weaned calves. In neonatal calf diarrhoea, oral rehydration therapy is the single most important therapeutic measure to be carried out by the farmer and is usually successful if instigated immediately after diarrhoea has developed. Continued feeding of milk or milk replacer to diarrhoeic calves is important, to prevent malnourishment and weight loss in affected calves. Indiscriminative antibiotic treatment of uncomplicated diarrhoea is discouraged, whereas systemically ill calves can benefit from systemic antibiotic treatment for the prevention of septicaemia or concurrent diseases. Ancillary treatments and specific preventive measures are discussed. Eimeriosis has a high economic impact on the farming industries due to direct cost of treatment and calf losses, but especially due to decreased performance of clinically as well as sub-clinically affected animals. Emphasis lies on prophylactic or metaphylactic treatment, since the degree of damage to the intestinal mucosa once diarrhoea has developed, makes therapeutic intervention unrewarding

Eimeria species in young and adult sheep raised under intensive and / or semi-intensive systems of a herd from Umuarama city, Parana State, Brazil

The present study aimed to identify Eimeria species in young and adult sheep raised under intensive and / or semi-intensive systems of a herd from Umuarama city, Parana State, Brazil using the traditional diagnostic methods and to correlate the infection level/types of infection in the different age/system in this herd. Fecal samples were collected from the rectum of 210 sheep and were subjected to laboratory analysis to differentiate the species. Furthermore, animals were observed to determine the occurrences of the clinical or subclinical forms of eimeriosis. Out of the 210 collected fecal samples, 147 (70%) were positive for Eimeria oocysts, and 101 (47.86%) belonged to young animals that were raised under intensive and / or semi-intensive farming systems. Oocysts from 9 species of Eimeria parasites were identified in the sheep at the following prevalence rates: E. crandallis, 50.0%; E. parva, 21.6%; E. faurei, 8.1%; E. ahsata, 8.1%; E. intricata, 5.4%; E. granulosa, 2.7%; E. ovinoidalis, 2.0%; E. ovina, 1.3%; and E. bakuensis, 0.6%. There were no differences regarding the more frequent Eimeria species among the different ages of animals or between the different farming management systems. Based on these data, E. crandallis was the most prevalent, followed by E. parva and E. faurei species, regardless of the age. Higher parasitism was diagnosed in the young animals that were raised in a confinement regime, and the disease found in the herd was classified as subclinical. Further studies should be conducted in this herd, to verify if the eimeriosis subclinical can cause damage especially in young animals with a high level of infection.UEM, Dept Vet Med, BR-87020900 Umuarama, PR, BrazilUniv Fed Mato Grosso Sul UFMS, Dept Vet Med, Campo Grande, MS USAUniv Estadual Sao Paulo UNESP, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Ctr Pesquisas Sanidade Anim CPPAR, Jaboticabal, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Sao Paulo UNESP, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Ctr Pesquisas Sanidade Anim CPPAR, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazi