Torleiv Høien

Bio: Torleiv Høien is an academic researcher from University of Stavanger. The author has contributed to research in topics: Reading comprehension & Gluten-free, casein-free diet. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 3 publications receiving 381 citations.

A randomised, controlled study of dietary intervention in autistic syndromes.

Abstract: Impaired social interaction, communication and imaginative skills characterize autistic syndromes. In these syndromes urinary peptide abnormalities, derived from gluten, gliadin, and casein, are reported. They reflect processes with opioid effect. The aim of this single blind study was to evaluate effect of gluten and casein-free diet for children with autistic syndromes and urinary peptide abnormalities. A randomly selected diet and control group with 10 children in each group participated. Observations and tests were done before and after a period of 1 year. The development for the group of children on diet was significantly better than for the controls.

Effect of a Dietary Intervention on Autistic Behavior

Abstract: Autistic syndromes are characterized by impaired social, communicative, and imaginative skills. Urinary peptide abnormalities, in part due to gluten and casein, have been detected in some individua...

The Reading Efficiency Model An Extension of the Componential Model of Reading

Abstract: The purpose of the present study was twofold: First, the authors investigated if an extended version of the component model of reading (CMR; Model 2), including decoding rate and oral vocabulary comprehension, accounted for more of the variance in reading comprehension than the commonly used measures of the cognitive factors in the CMR. Second, the authors investigated the fitness of a new model, titled the reading efficiency model (REM), which deviates from earlier models regarding how reading is defined. In the study, 780 Norwegian students from Grades 6 and 10 were recruited. Here, hierarchical regression analyses showed that the extended model did not account for more of the variance in reading comprehension than the traditional CMR model (Model 1). In the second part of the study the authors used structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore the REM. The results showed that the REM explained an overall larger amount of variance in reading ability, compared to Model 1 and Model 2. This result is proba...

Differences between the gut microflora of children with autistic spectrum disorders and that of healthy children

Abstract: Children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) tend to suffer from severe gastrointestinal problems. Such symptoms may be due to a disruption of the indigenous gut flora promoting the overgrowth of potentially pathogenic micro-organisms. The faecal flora of patients with ASDs was studied and compared with those of two control groups (healthy siblings and unrelated healthy children). Faecal bacterial populations were assessed through the use of a culture-independent technique, fluorescence in situ hybridization, using oligonucleotide probes targeting predominant components of the gut flora. The faecal flora of ASD patients contained a higher incidence of the Clostridium histolyticum group (Clostridium clusters I and II) of bacteria than that of healthy children. However, the non-autistic sibling group had an intermediate level of the C. histolyticum group, which was not significantly different from either of the other subject groups. Members of the C. histolyticum group are recognized toxin-producers and may contribute towards gut dysfunction, with their metabolic products also exerting systemic effects. Strategies to reduce clostridial population levels harboured by ASD patients or to improve their gut microflora profile through dietary modulation may help to alleviate gut disorders common in such patients.

The Simple View of Reading

Abstract: This study examined whether the simple view of reading framework is consistently applicable among high school Korean EFL learners. In addition, it was investigated whether an oral reading fluency component is an efficient predictor for reading comprehension on top of decoding skills and linguistic comprehension skills. Thirty tenth-grade students in Korean high school were selected as participants in this research, and their decoding skills, listening comprehension, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension in English were assessed. The data demonstrated that decoding was not an important component in predicting English reading proficiency, which does not support the original version of the simple view of reading. Instead, it was revealed that oral reading fluency had a strong predictive power of reading comprehension. Furthermore, it was found that the model should be modified as an additive model (listening comprehension + fluency) instead of a productive one. The result is discussed with respect to reading comprehension, taking into account learners’ grade level and EFL learners’ English education circumstances.

The immune response in autism: a new frontier for autism research

Abstract: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are part of a broad spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders known as pervasive developmental disor- ders, which occur in childhood. They are charac- terized by impairments in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and the presence of restricted and repetitive stereotyped behaviors. At the present time, the etiology of ASD is largely unknown, but genetic, environmental, immunolog- ical, and neurological factors are thought to play a role in the development of ASD. Recently, increas- ing research has focused on the connections be- tween the immune system and the nervous system, including its possible role in the development of ASD. These neuroimmune interactions begin early during embryogenesis and persist throughout an individual's lifetime, with successful neurodevelop- ment contingent upon a normal balanced immune response. Immune aberrations consistent with a dysregulated immune response, which so far, have been reported in autistic children, include abnor- mal or skewed T helper cell type 1 (TH1)/TH2 cytokine profiles, decreased lymphocyte numbers, decreased T cell mitogen response, and the imbal- ance of serum immunoglobulin levels. In addition, autism has been linked with autoimmunity and an association with immune-based genes including hu- man leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1 and comple- ment C4 alleles described. There is potential that such aberrant immune activity during vulnerable and critical periods of neurodevelopment could participate in the generation of neurological dys- function characteristic of ASD. This review will examine the status of the research linking the im- mune response with ASD. J. Leukoc. Biol. 80: 1-15; 2006.

Alterations of the intestinal barrier in patients with autism spectrum disorders and in their first-degree relatives.

Abstract: Objectives: Intestinal permeability (IPT) was investigated in patients with autism as well as in their first-degree relatives to investigate leaky gut hypothesis. Faecal calprotectin (FC) was also measured in patients with autism, either with or without gastrointestinal symptoms, and in their firstdegree relatives. Patients and Methods: IPT results, assessed by means of the lactulose/ mannitol test, were compared with adult and child controls and with FC values. Results: A high percentage of abnormal IPT values were found among patients with autism (36.7%) and their relatives (21.2%) compared with normal subjects (4.8%). Patients with autism on a reported gluten-casein– free diet had significantly lower IPT values compared with those who were on an unrestricted diet and controls. Gastrointestinal symptoms were present in 46.7% of children with autism: constipation (45.5%), diarrhoea (34.1%), and others (alternating diarrhoea/constipation, abdominal pain, etc: 15.9%). FC was elevated in 24.4% of patients with autism and in 11.6% of their relatives; it was not, however, correlated with abnormal IPT values. Conclusions: The results obtained support the leaky gut hypothesis and indicate that measuring IPT could help to identify a subgroup of patients with autism who could benefit from a gluten-free diet. The IPT alterations found in first-degree relatives suggest the presence of an intestinal (tightjunction linked) hereditary factor in the families of subjects with autism.

Impaired Carbohydrate Digestion and Transport and Mucosal Dysbiosis in the Intestines of Children with Autism and Gastrointestinal Disturbances

Abstract: Gastrointestinal disturbances are commonly reported in children with autism, complicate clinical management, and may contribute to behavioral impairment. Reports of deficiencies in disaccharidase enzymatic activity and of beneficial responses to probiotic and dietary therapies led us to survey gene expression and the mucoepithelial microbiota in intestinal biopsies from children with autism and gastrointestinal disease and children with gastrointestinal disease alone. Ileal transcripts encoding disaccharidases and hexose transporters were deficient in children with autism, indicating impairment of the primary pathway for carbohydrate digestion and transport in enterocytes. Deficient expression of these enzymes and transporters was associated with expression of the intestinal transcription factor, CDX2. Metagenomic analysis of intestinal bacteria revealed compositional dysbiosis manifest as decreases in Bacteroidetes, increases in the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, and increases in Betaproteobacteria. Expression levels of disaccharidases and transporters were associated with the abundance of affected bacterial phylotypes. These results indicate a relationship between human intestinal gene expression and bacterial community structure and may provide insights into the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal disturbances in children with autism.