Oursubjects consisted of 14 autistic individuals and 14 controls ranging in age from 3 to 37 years. A 99mTc HMPAO single photon emission computed tomogram (SPECT) was used to examine blood flow variations between autistic subjects, compared to an age- and gender-matched control group. We found significant hypoperfusion in the prefrontal areas of autistic individuals as compared to normals in every case (p < 0.01). As the age of the autistic individuals increased the hypoperfusion of verbal-associated areas in the left temporal lobe and frontal areas became more evident. The findings were significant at the p < 0.001 level. The changes in perfusion over time correlated with language development and acquisition as individuals matured. We conclude that autistic individuals have a deficiency in prefrontal areas associated with word identification and language formation skills. This subsequently prevents development of true verbal fluency and development in the temporal and frontal areas associated with speech and communication.
Family data were obtained from the relatives of 30 autistic patients, 30 patients with other pervasive developmental disorder and 30 healthy controls. Detailed interviewing was conducted to document any evidence of psychiatric illness of the family members of these probands. Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive illness stood out as being closely associated with having autistic individuals in the family. The findings suggest that autism is a spectrum disorder that may be associated with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive illness. This type of association is consistent with a polygenic threshold effect for this group of conditions.
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