Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37437060›Full record

ArticlePloS one2023

Corneal confocal microscopy demonstrates sensory nerve loss in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Adnan Khan, Madeeha Kamal, Abdula Alhothi, Hoda Gad, Marian A Adan, Georgios Ponirakis, Ioannis N Petropoulos, Rayaz A Malik

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 32% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Adnan KhanResearch Division, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0003-4647-6672
Madeeha KamalDepartment of Pediatrics, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar.
Abdula AlhothiDepartment of Pediatrics, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
Hoda GadResearch Division, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
Marian A AdanDepartment of Pediatrics, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
Georgios PonirakisResearch Division, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0002-6936-1248
Ioannis N PetropoulosResearch Division, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
Rayaz A MalikResearch Division, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.ORCID 0000-0002-7188-8903
Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar · QAHamad General Hospital · QAKhyber Medical University · PK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by difficulty in communication and interaction with others. Postmortem studies have shown cerebral neuronal loss and neuroimaging studies show neuronal loss in the amygdala, cerebellum and inter-hemispheric regions of the brain. Recent studies have shown altered tactile discrimination and allodynia on the face, mouth, hands and feet and intraepidermal nerve fiber loss in the legs of subjects with ASD. Fifteen children with ASD (age: 12.00 ± 3.55 years) and twenty age-matched healthy controls (age: 12.83 ± 1.91 years) underwent corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) and quantification of corneal nerve fiber morphology. Corneal nerve fibre density (fibers/mm2) (28.61 ± 5.74 vs. 40.42 ± 8.95, p = 0.000), corneal nerve fibre length (mm/mm2) (16.61 ± 3.26 vs. 21.44 ± 4.44, p = 0.001), corneal nerve branch density (branches/mm2) (43.68 ± 22.71 vs. 62.39 ± 21.58, p = 0.018) and corneal nerve fibre tortuosity (0.037 ± 0.023 vs. 0.074 ± 0.017, p = 0.000) were significantly lower and inferior whorl length (mm/mm2) (21.06 ± 6.12 vs. 23.43 ± 3.95, p = 0.255) was comparable in children with ASD compared to controls. CCM identifies central corneal nerve fiber loss in children with ASD. These findings, urge the need for larger longitudinal studies to determine the utility of CCM as an imaging biomarker for neuronal loss in different subtypes of ASD and in relation to disease progression.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderAdolescentAfferent PathwaysChildHumansHyperalgesiaMicroscopy, ConfocalNerve Fibers

Identifiers

PMID37437060
PMCPMC10337936
OpenAlexW4384024903

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.