Parents-children co-regulation as therapeutic variable and target in autism spectrum disorders. From observation of drive to need of cooperative parent-mediated therapy

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) belong to the category of neurodevelopmental disorders. ASD emerges in early childhood and involves deficits in communication, language, behavioural inflexibility and fixity, and sensorial neurodivergent perception. ASDs have a biological pathogenesis related to genetic and epigenetic factors. Additionally, research has shown that starting from childhood, autistic persons could find emotional regulation challenging during communication with caregivers. The importance of emotional co-regulation has always been under-lined in psychology, starting with Freud who introduced the concept of the Compassionate Other. Emotional difficulties are grasped immediately and almost instinctively by parents, who try to modulate their approach to the child's needs from the very beginning. This paper seeks to highlight the importance of emotional co-regulation as a wake-up call-in developmental trajectories that present peculiarities or anomalies. It also emphasizes the significance of emotional co-regulation as a useful tool for intervening in the dysfun-ctionality of such trajectories. This intervention aims to directly involve parents in treatment, as seen in Cooperative parent-mediated therapy. This approach is crucial for facilitating the evolution of the cognitive framework while utilizing this target. This article aims to review the most recent literature on co-regulation after explaining the theoretical framework that gave rise to this concept. It's now well established the importance of adopting a develop-mental approach that starts from the bodily dimension as the basis for the relationship with caregivers, pairs, and unfamiliar people. It is from this basis that starts the affective, emotional, and cognitive construction of the internal and external world of the child. This scoping review takes into account the most recent evidence on co-regulation and autism, emphasizing the importance of this process in diagnostic and therapeutic settings.

[Traumatic rupture of hepatic hydatid cyst]

Hydatid disease is endemic in some areas of the world. It is located mostly in the liver. The cysts rupture is possible after a trauma, or spontaneously by the increase of intracystic pressure. Rupture of the hydatid cyst requires urgent surgical intervention. We report our experience in treatment of traumatic rupture of hepatic hydatid cyst.

Living Donor Liver Transplantation: Early Single-Center Experience

Adult living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT) is an accepted procedure to overcome the organ shortage. The advantages of ALDLT must be balanced against the first concern of donor safety. We analyzed the results of our early experience among a series of eight ALDLT performed between April 2001 and October 2003. All patients were listed as United Network for Organ Sharing UNOS status 2b and 3. Transplant recipients consisted of four men and four women. The living donors included four sons, three daughters, and one son-in-law (ages 20 to 45 years). One donor was anti-HBc-positive and negative for hepatitis B virus-DNA by polymerase chain reaction analysis in serum and in liver tissue. GR/WR >0.8 and fatty liver <10% were considered suitable for the hepatectomy. Residual left lobe volume was at least 33%. No exogenous blood and blood products were transfused into the donors and a cell-saver device was used in all donors (blood loss 490 +/- 160 mL). All procedures were right lobe hepatectomy; in one case the middle hepatic vein was withdrawn with the right graft. The mean ischemia time was 1.5 +/- 0.5 hours. All donors survived the procedure. Median hospital stay was 8.5 +/- 2.1 days in all donors but one who had a long stay because of drug-related hepatitis. One graft was lost and one donor aborted because of preoperative overestimated volumetry. Complications were experienced by two donors (25%). Five recipients (62.5%) experienced major complications; one patient underwent retransplantation because of donor graft loss. Two biliary and two vascular complications (33.3%) occurred in three patients. No perioperative death occurred. Two patients died at 9 and 10 months after transplant because of heart and respiratory failure in the first case and tumor recurrence in the second. One-year actuarial survival is 75%. ALDLT using right lobe has gained acceptance to overcome the organ shortage. Donor selection criteria must be stringent with respect to residual donor hepatic volume, steatosis, and liver function.

[Surgical treatment of benign hepatic tumors. A safe and efficient choice]

Benign liver tumors often require surgical treatment because of the diagnostic difficulties of their nature and because of annoying symptoms. With the aim of assessing if surgery is a safe therapeutic option we reviewed the data concerning 36 consecutive patients who underwent hepatic resection during the period January 1988-January 1993 at our Institution for 42 presumed benign liver tumors. Patients had a preoperative assessment consisting of biochemical tests, abdominal echography and contrast-enhanced scan in all cases, magnetic resonance imaging in 6 cases, celiacmesenteric angiography in 14 cases and percutaneous liver biopsy in 5 cases. We realised 5 major hepatectomies and 31 minor resections. There was no perioperative mortality. The postoperative complication rate was 5.5%. Mean hospital stay was 15.1 days (range 5-35 days). On follow-up, ranging from 4 to 60 months (mean 24 months), all patients are alive, without recurrence and free of symptoms. Histologic examination of specimens showed cavernous hemangioma in 20 cases, focal nodular hyperplasia in 19 cases and hepatic adenoma in 3 cases. Histologic findings were in accord with preoperative diagnosis in 57.9% of cases of cavernous hemangioma, in 42.8% of cases of focal nodular hyperplasia and in no case of hepatic adenoma. Our experience confirms that accurate preoperative diagnosis of presumed benign liver tumors is difficult in spite of complete radiologic investigations and liver biopsy. For this reason and for the risk of dangerous complications, such as malignant transformation and intraperitoneal hemorrhage, we believe that surgery is the treatment of choice in the majority of cases. This attitude, when realised in a center with experience in hepato-biliary surgery and using modern technical features is safe and efficient.

[Surgical treatment of gangrene of the perineum]

Acute perineal gangrene due to anaerobic Gram negative bacilli or streptococci rapidly leads to tissue necrosis and death in 50% of the cases despite progress in intensive care. Emergency treatment requires adapted antibiotics, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and repeated surgery. Factors of poor prognosis include age over 60 years, lomboabdominal or crural extension, septic shock, positive blood cultures and lack of fecal derivation. Surgery is performed under general anaesthesia since loco-regional anaesthesia is contraindicated during the septic phase. Repeated operations are needed to make large incisions, evacuate pus, search for foreign bodies and resect damaged tissue in order to expose all the infected areas to air and hyperbaric oxygen. A colostomy must be performed in order to avoid fistulization and contamination of the infected areas. An indwelling urine catheter is usually sufficient although a suprapubic catheter may be needed at the risk of further extension of the gangrene. Surgical treatment is associated with intensive care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Three effective antibiotics are recommended. Using this aggressive surgical protocol, we have been able to reduce mortality to 20% in patients under 60 years of age.

[Dissection of the Calot's triangle by the celioscopic approach]

Laparoscopy seems to increase the frequency of post-cholecystectomy biliary complications. Irrespective of the instruments and techniques utilized, dissection of Calot's triangle must be performed in compliance with the classical rules of bile duct surgery. These rules are: always keep in contact with the gallbladder; completely dissect the Calot's triangle area which must not contain more than one biliary tract element; never dissect the cystic duct beyond the right border of the hepatic choledochus; never section an element that is not identified with certainty; systematically perform a peroperative transcystic cholangiography, in particular to detect the anatomical variants of the extra-hepatic biliary ducts.

[Orthotopic liver transplantation and hepatocellular carcinoma]

Nineteen orthotopic liver transplantations (OLT) were performed in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, between March 1988 and December 1990, in our Department. Thirteen patients (68.4%), 10 men and 3 women, mean age 48.2 +/- 2.8 years, were clear cut neoplastic disease, six patients (31.6%), 4 men and 2 women, mean age 48.6 +/- 4.2 years, were incidental tumors. Three years survival rate was 20% in clear cut neoplastic diseases (4 patients died for neoplastic recurrence) and 66% in incidental tumors. Our results demonstrate that liver transplantation for hepatobiliary malignancy is still justified, patient selection is important in predicting outcome.

Laparoscopic fenestration of biliary cysts

We describe a new technique of biliary cyst fenestration using a videolaparoscopic approach. From June 1989 to October 1990, laparoscopic fenestration was performed for four symptomatic solitary cyst and one polycystic liver disease patients, without any morbidity. Mean hospital stay was short: 6.8 days (range of 3-14 days). No recurrence was observed on ultrasound controls with a mean follow-up of 6.4 months (range of 2-15 months). Laparoscopic fenestration for symptomatic biliary cysts is a simple, effective, and minimally invasive procedure.