White Matter Tract Development in Autistic Toddlers by Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Correlation with

Dr. Roula Hourani-Rizk

Start: Dec 31, 2014

End: Dec 31, 2017

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are neurodevelopmental disorders, characterized by impairments in three major domains: socialization, communication, and behavior 1. The prevalence of ASD is at an all-time high 2-4. Improved objective diagnostic tools and raised awareness have contributed to better ascertainment of cases 5.  Up to a few years ago, no neuroimaging markers were specific for the diagnostic work-up of non-syndromic ASD.  More recently, several studies have examined the white matter in ASD at both the macrostructural and microstructural levels. They found widespread white matter disruption that might be related to impaired white matter organization and abnormalities in myelination 6 contributing to reduced connectivity in the central nervous system. Yet, conflicting results have been reported in the literature.  What is now well-recognized is that a large number of these children, if diagnosed before the age of two and a half,  and if they receive early intervention therapies to include speech, occupational, physical and applied behavior analysis, do quite well and become fully integrated into regular schools.   We plan to examine 30 autistic children before and one year after institution of therapies and thirty age matched controls with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to determine: a) The existence of early DTI markers for ASD; and b) the impact of early intervention and ABA therapies on outcome and white matter changes by DTI after one year.  A potential benefit is the acquisition of an objective imaging measure for tracking the impact of emerging novel therapies in autism.

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