Several studies have described in autistic patients an overgrowth of unusual gut bacterial strains, able to push the fermentation of tyrosine up to the formation of p-cresol. We compared levels of urinary p-cresol, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet, in 59 matched case-control pairs. Urinary p-cresol was significantly elevated in autistic children smaller than 8 years of age (p < 0.01), typically females (p < 0.05), and more severely affected regardless of sex (p < 0.05). Urinary cotinine measurements excluded smoking-related hydrocarbon contaminations as contributors to these differences. Hence, elevated urinary p-cresol may serve as a biomarker of autism liability in small children, especially females and more severely affected males.

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Background: To investigate the relationship between age of onset and clinical and personality features of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). Sampling andMethod: We assessed 250 outpatients with AN with the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Eating Disorder Inventory 2, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Body Shape Questionnaire. The patients were subdivided into 3 groups: early (n = 73), intermediate (n = 96) and late onset (n = 81), based on age of onset of symptoms. Results: The early-onset group shows higher body dissatisfaction, maturity fear, impulsivity and asceticism than the other 2 groups. This group shows a greater character fragility, as described in particular by a lower self-directedness, than the other 2 groups. Conclusions: Even several years after the onset of the disorder, early-onset subjects affected by AN seem characterized by a more disturbed personality, with a higher body dissatisfaction than late-onset subjects affected by AN and a pursuit of thinness based on an ascetic drive.

In this study the authors used a cross-cultural approach to examine parental attitudes, attachment styles, social networks, and some of the psychological processes involved in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Fifty-two children (aged 4-11 years) took part in the study: 30 Italians (15 with ASD and 15 controls) and 22 Cubans (11 with ASD and 11 controls). Findings indicated significant differences between the two cultural groups in terms of the structure of the children's social network and parental attitudes toward their children. However, the mother-child attachment relationship and cognitive and emotional functioning of the study participants were independent of culture.

Growing evidence suggests a possible relationship between migraine and thrombotic risk factors. The aim of this study was to analyze the possible relationship between migraine and acquired and genetic thrombophilia in a young population. We compared 16 migrainous adolescents, 12 children with tension-type headache, and controls in terms of frequencies of prothrombotic polymorphisms (factor V Leiden, C677T mutation of 5,10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, G20210A mutation of prothrombin), platelet aggregability, anticoagulant antibodies, blood lipid pattern, serum folate and vitamin B12 levels, homocysteinemia, coagulation parameters, and family history for migraine and precocious thrombotic events. This study confirms the link between migraine and increased platelet responsiveness. Overall, 62.5% of migrainous patients carried at least three thrombophilic factors. Our preliminary data suggest that, in order to assess prevention strategies, it could be appropriate to perform a complete thrombophilia screening in young patients suffering from migraine and with a family history of thrombosis.