Autism
Infant’s Gaze May Be An Early, But Subtle, Marker For Autism Risk - Kennedy Krieger Institute announced new study results showing an early marker for later communication and social delays in infants at a higher-risk for autism may be infrequent gazing at other people when unprompted…
Scientists Measure Gene Mutation Rate In Autism And Schizophrenia - An international study led by University of Montreal scientists suggests family history may not be a good predictor of the presence of mutations predisposing to autism or schizophrenia. The findings show how new or de novo gene mutations - alterations of the cell’s DNA - play a role in these devastating conditions…
Six-year Study Provides Documentation Of Theorized Differences In Brain’s Cortex In Autism Disorders - There is still much that is unknown about autism spectrum disorders, but a University of Nevada, Reno psychologist has added to the body of knowledge that researchers around the world are compiling to try to demystify, prevent and treat the mysterious condition…
Alarming Increase In Autism Brings Together Hundreds Of Parents, Researchers And Clinicians From Around The World To Long Beach This October - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released new estimates that one in every 110 children (1 in 70 boys) is diagnosed with autism. Autism has become more common in our children than cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined…
Fla.’s Jackson Health System Struggles With Nursing Home And Hospital Losses; Advocates Push Marijuana Cultivation In Calif. - The Miami Herald: As the Jackson Health System’s “governing board prepares to vote Monday on a proposed budget for 2011, its two money-losing nursing homes stand as a symbol for the challenges the system faces as it attempts to cut losses. Almost 100 of the 289 nursing home patients in the Jackson Health System are uninsured. Half of those are undocumented immigrants under age 50…
Curemark To Present At BioPharm America™ 2010 - Curemark, LLC, a drug research and development company focused on the treatment of neurological diseases, will present at BioPharm America™ 2010, to be held September 15-17 in Boston at the Marriott Boston Copley Place, the company announced. Dr. Joan Fallon, Curemark’s founder and CEO, will provide an overview of the company’s enzyme replacement therapy targeted to autism…
Researchers Connect APC Protein To Autism And Mental Retardation - A clue to the causes of autism and mental retardation lies in the synapse, the tiny intercellular junction that rapidly transfers information from one neuron to the next…
Autism Research: For Measuring And Analyzing Child Behavior, NSF Awards $10M To Develop Computing Techniques - A team led by the Georgia Institute of Technology has received a $10 million “Expeditions in Computing” award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop novel computing techniques for measuring and analyzing the behavior of children. These technologies will be used to enable new approaches for identifying children at risk for autism and other developmental delays…
Carnegie Mellon Joins NSF Research Consortium To Develop Tools For Analyzing Autism, Other Behaviors - Researchers in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University will join a five-year, $10 million initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create novel tools for evaluating social interactions and other behaviors that can be used in diagnosing or treating behavioral disorders such as autism…
Autism Research Finds Empirical Link Between Multisensory Integration And Autism - A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has provided concrete evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process sensory information such as sound, touch and vision differently than typically developing children…
Developmental Problems, Some Exist In The Genes - Everyone is special in their own unique way. From a genetic point of view, no two humans are genetically identical. This means that DNA for each individual contains variants that are more or less common in the overall population. Some gene variations are actually genetic deletions, where sections of DNA ‘code’ are missing entirely…
Language As A Window Into Sociability - People with Williams syndrome - known for their indiscriminate friendliness and ease with strangers - process spoken language differently from people with autism spectrum disorders - characterized by social withdrawal and isolation-found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies…
Disturbances In Certain Genes Play A Role In Autism - Together with colleagues from an international research group, autism researcher Christopher Gillberg of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has found in a new study that autism can be partially explained by abnormalities in certain genes. The group’s results could, in the long run, pave the way for more appropriate treatments for autism…
Robots To Help Children With Autism - Interbots, Inc., a high-tech spin-off company associated with the Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center has teamed up with the Autism Center of Pittsburgh to provide innovative robot-based therapy for children with autism…
New Brain Scan Diagnoses Autism In Adults - UK scientists have developed a new type of brain scan that only takes 15 minutes and can diagnose autism in adults with over 90 per cent accuracy: they hope to develop it so it can be used to screen children for autism spectrum disorders…
Lack Of Evidence To Support Use Of Antidepressants For Autism - Antidepressants commonly prescribed to people with autistic spectrum disorders cannot be recommended based on current evidence, a new study by Cochrane Researchers concludes…
Autism And Antidepressants, No Compelling Evidence That It Helps - Based on current evidence, the commonly practiced therapy of prescribing antidepressants to people with autistic spectrum disorders cannot be recommended, according to a new study by Cochrane researchers…
Free Program Available For Parents Of Children With Autism, Australia - Researchers at UQ’s Parenting and Family Support Centre are offering a free program to parents of children aged two to nine with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Called “Primary Care Stepping Stones Triple P”, it is the latest version of the popular Stepping Stones Triple P program, designed specifically for parents of children with a disability…
Relatives Of Individuals With Autism Tend To Display Abnormal Eye Movements - Abnormal eye movements and other sensorimotor and neurobehavioral impairments appear common in unaffected family members of individuals with autism, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals…
‘Brain Injury’ Is Newest Disability Intensive Course Introduced To College Of Direct Support Curriculum - The College of Direct Support (CDS), an internet-based college for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and managed in partnership by Elsevier/MC Strategies and the University of Minnesota’s Research and Training Center, has introduced its fourth Disability Intensive Course (DIC) into the CDS Curriculum “Brain Injury…
Findings On Cell Interactions Published By U. Iowa Biologists - Two University of Iowa biologists have published a paper on how cells make specific interactions during development -- in the hope of one day learning more about human developmental disorders -- in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dietmar Schreiner, postdoctoral researcher, and Joshua A…
Study Aims To Uncover Source Of Sensory Problems In Autism - The way the brain reacts differently to the sense of touch in people with Autism will be examined as part of an innovative Cardiff University study designed to create better understanding of the condition…
Autism Speaks On US Senate Hearing On Potential Environmental Health Factors In Autism - Autism Speaks’ Chief Science Officer Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D. emphasized the importance of research on environmental risk factors for autism spectrum disorders as the U.S…
Parents Of Grown Offspring With Autism More Likely To Split Up - The parents of grown children with autism are more likely to divorce than couples with typically developing children, according to new data from a large longitudinal study of families of adolescents and adults with autism…
Texas Raises Organ Donor Registry; D.C. Not Ready For Medical Marijuana Sales; L.A. Health Department Facing Major Service Cuts - The Houston Chronicle: “Though Texas has the nation’s lowest percentage of registered organ and tissue donors, several recent initiatives have more than doubled the state’s donor rolls this year. The number enrolled in the Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry has ballooned since Jan…
