Effects of Stable Vagus Nerve Stimulation Efficacy on Autistic Behaviors in Ten Pediatric Patients With Drug Resistant Epilepsy: An Observational Study
Effects of Stable Vagus Nerve Stimulation Efficacy on Autistic Behaviors in Ten Pediatric Patients With Drug Resistant Epilepsy: An Observational Study
Front Pediatr. 2022 Mar 2;10:846301.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.846301
An extensive amount of research examining the efficacy and safety of vagus nerve (#VNS) Therapy in patients with drug resistant epilepsy (#DRE) already exists. However, the potential treatment effects of VNS Therapy on #autistic behavior in children with DRE have not yet been fully unraveled.
This new publication by Wang et al. 2022 retrospectively examined alterations in autistic behavior, following VNS implantation, in 10 pediatric patients (mean age at implantation: 4.6 years) with DRE. Changes in autistic symptoms were based on autistic behavior assessments, using the Autistic Behavior Checklist (#ABC) and the Child Behavior Checklist (#CBCL), during two different follow-up sessions (mean follow-up duration of 2.16 and 2.98 years, respectively).
Autistic behaviors decreased over time and were significantly reduced between the two follow-ups (ABC-scores: 56.6±21.2 and 48.6±26.2 at the first and second follow-up, respectively). Improvements in self-help and language skills were especially prominent. However, no significant difference in CBCL-scores could be observed between the two follow-up sessions.
Noteworthy, the observed effects of VNS Therapy on autistic symptoms were not significantly correlated with #seizure outcomes. This suggests VNS Therapy exerts beneficial effects on autistic behaviors, improving social skills and language for this difficult to treat patient group, independent of seizure control.
Link to article: http://ow.ly/e3uG50ICONw