Autism and ADHD can now be distinguished by retinal tests
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Autism is a developmental disorder that begins before the age of 3 and is characterized by social interaction, stereotypes, limitations, and repetitive behaviors. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed less frequently, affecting nearly 1% of the population. That is, about one in every 100 children has autism.
ADHD, short for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is more common in children. Children with ADHD have problems concentrating, having short attention spans, and being hyperactive or impulsive compared to their peers. Data show that the prevalence of ADHD among Chinese children and adolescents is about 6.3%, and there are about 23 million children and adolescents in China.
Because ADHD is so common and easy to diagnose, people often overlook the autism behind ADHD. In fact, about one-fifth of children with ADHD show autism symptoms such as language barriers, communication difficulties and emotional control problems. Hyperactivity and inattention are apparent in most children with autism and are often mistaken for ADHD.
Researchers in South Australia have discovered a special retinal graph (ERG) signal, leading to the development of a retinal test that can be used not only to separate ADHD and autism cases from controls, but also A clear distinction is made between the two cases.
ERG is a standard diagnostic test that has been used by many industries to identify retinal diseases since the 1940s. The principle of operation is that when an electrode or thin fiber comes into contact with the cornea, it displays a flash or some pattern to the patient, so that the activity on the retina can be recorded on the cornea.
In the experiment, the researchers tested ERG on 55 ADS patients, 15 ADHD patients and 156 controls aged 3 to 27 years. It was found that there were significant differences in b-wave energy levels and oscillatory potentials between control subjects, ASD patients, and ADHD patients. Furthermore, ADHD patients showed higher overall ERG energy levels, while ASD patients showed lower overall ERG energy levels than control patients.
Overall, the study found neurophysiological changes in the two disorders, autism and ADHD, and preliminary evidence not only distinguishes ADHD and ASD from typically developing children, but also provides evidence that they can be distinguished from each other based on ERG characteristics. In the future, it is hoped that the technology can effectively help children with these two diseases.