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Autistic spectrum disorders in Möbius sequence: a comprehensive study of 25 individuals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2001

Maria Johansson ,
Elisabet Wentz ,
Elisabeth Fernell ,
Kerstin Strömland ,
Marilyn T Miller  and
Christopher Gillberg
Maria Johansson
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden.
Elisabet Wentz
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden.
Elisabeth Fernell
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Kerstin Strömland
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Östra, Sweden.
Marilyn T Miller
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA.
Christopher Gillberg
Affiliation:
Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden.
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Abstract

The prevalence of autistic disorder was analysed in 25 individuals with Möbius sequence, a disorder with brain-stem dysfunction. The sample consisted of 18 males and seven females (20 participants were aged 2 to 22 years, and five were aged 1, 19 and 23 months, and 55 years old). Participants were recruited after a nationwide call and were part of a multidisciplinary study of individuals with Möbius sequence. They were given a meticulous neuropsychiatric examination including standardized autism diagnostic interviews. Ten individuals had an autistic spectrum disorder. Six of these met all diagnostic criteria for autism. In 23 individuals cognitive development could be assessed. Eight of those 23 patients had clear learning disability and six individuals were functioning in the normal but subaverage range. Autistic spectrum disorder and learning disability occurred in more than a third of the examined patients. Considering the hospital-based nature of the sample, these findings may be overestimates. Nevertheless, awareness of this coexistence is important in the diagnosis and habilitation care of children with Möbius sequence. Moreover, the results provide further support for the notion of a subgroup of autistic spectrum disorders being caused by first trimester brain-stem damage.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology , Volume 43 , Issue 5 , May 2001 , pp. 338 - 345
Copyright
© 2001 Mac Keith Press

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