Brazilian clinicians sought to determine the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) among children with the most severe form of SMA type 1 who had survived thanks to the use of an innovative therapy:
- 13 children meeting these criteria were included in an observational study comprising age-adjusted cognitive and behavioural tests;
- they were on average 4 years old (range 2–8 years) and had received innovative therapy at varying ages;
- 5 out of the 13 exhibited traits in the tests that met the criteria defined by the international classification (DSM-5-TR) for diagnosing autism spectrum disorders.
The authors highlight the high prevalence of ASD in their cohort, the multifactorial nature of the observed phenomenon, and its possible under-detection due to a lack of appropriate tools.
