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Children with autism spectrum disorder may have improved behavior with the onset of a fever of at least 100.4F however, the behavioral change is transient.

Dr. Andrew W. Zimmerman from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and colleagues assessed the parent-reported behaviors of 30 autistic children aged 2 to 18 years during and after an episode of fever. They observed fewer aberrant behaviors as rated on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist. Less irritability, hyperactivity, stereotypy and inappropriate speech were reported. Unfortunately, all improvements in behavior were temporary.

"The majority of these subgroup comparisons suggested that behavior change was not a function of illness severity," Dr. Zimmerman and colleagues report. The effects of fever on behavior persisted in less sick patients as well as in those with more severe illness. "Since autism spectrum disorders are behaviorally defined and
diagnosed, studying changes in behavior resulting from a wide range of physiological changes is critical to increasing our understanding of this complex group of disorders," said Zimmerman. "The results of this study are important because they show us that the autistic brain is plastic, or capable of altering current connections and forming new ones in response to different experiences or
conditions."

Further research involving more autistic children is needed and Zimmerman hopes to collaborate with other research institutions to study the underlying biologic mechanism by conducting blood tests during and after a fever incident and analyzing immune and hormonal changes.

[PRNewsWire]