Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Autism interventions are supported by varying levels of evidence, reveals new RAND study

Interventions designed to improve core deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders are supported by varying levels of evidence, highlighting the need for well-designed studies to better evaluate the interventions, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

3 Nov 2012

Scientists sequence and analyze human genomes to discover many variants

Thanks to powerful computational tools developed at Simon Fraser University, more than 100 scientists from around the world have genetically mapped the largest and most varied number of human genomes to date.

3 Nov 2012

Roundup: Texas will keep Planned Parenthood Women's Health Program for now; Kids' autism covered in Wash. Medicaid; UnitedHealth selling S.C. Medicaid biz

Planned Parenthood will continue to receive funds from a joint Texas and federal program providing health care to low-income women, despite the state's promise to exclude its clinics by Nov. 1 because they are affiliated with abortion providers.

2 Nov 2012

Dysfunction in SRGAP3 protein causes developmental brain disorders

A new research discovery has the potential to revolutionize the biological understanding of some childhood psychiatric disorders. Specifically, scientists have found that when a single protein involved in brain development, called "SRGAP3," is malformed, it causes problems in the brain functioning of mice that cause symptoms that are similar to some mental health and neurological disorders in children.

1 Nov 2012

SSRIs should be prescribed with great caution to those attempting to get pregnant

Elevated risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, neonatal health complications and possible longer term neurobehavioral abnormalities, including autism, suggest that a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) should only be prescribed with great caution and with full counseling for women experiencing depression and attempting to get pregnant, say researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center and MetroWest Medical Center.

31 Oct 2012

Development of children with ASD much like that of children without ASD at 6 months of age

The development of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is much like that of children without ASD at 6 months of age, but differs afterwards. That's the main finding of the largest prospective, longitudinal study to date comparing children with early and later diagnosis of ASD with children without ASD. The study appears in the journal Child Development and has implications for clinical work, public health, and policy.

31 Oct 2012

SSRIs should be prescribed with great caution to those attempting to get pregnant

31 Oct 2012

Study finds two distinct patterns of language, social and motor development in children with ASD

In the largest prospective study to date of children with early and later manifestation of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compared to children without ASD, researchers found two distinct patterns of language, social and motor development in the children with ASD.

31 Oct 2012

ESDM intervention can change brain function in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders

An autism intervention program that emphasizes social interactions and is designed for children as young as 12 months has been found to improve cognitive skills and brain responses to faces, considered a building block for social skills. The researchers say that the study, which was completed at the University of Washington, is the first to demonstrate that an intensive behavioral intervention can change brain function in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders.

31 Oct 2012

Empathetic and analytic thinking mutually exclusive in the brain

New research shows a simple reason why even the most intelligent, complex brains can be taken by a swindler's story - one that upon a second look offers clues it was false.

31 Oct 2012

Study finds two distinct patterns of language, social and motor development in children with ASD

30 Oct 2012

ESDM improves social skills and brain responses to social cues

The Early Start Denver Model, a comprehensive behavioral early intervention program that is appropriate for children with autism spectrum disorder as young as 12 months, has been found to be effective in improving social skills and brain responses to social cues in a randomized controlled study published online today in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

29 Oct 2012

Anterior insular cortex associated with human empathy

An international team led by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York has for the first time shown that one area of the brain, called the anterior insular cortex, is the activity center of human empathy, whereas other areas of the brain are not. The study is published in the September 2012 issue of the journal Brain.

25 Oct 2012

Link between autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a category that includes autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, are characterized by difficulty with social interaction and communication, or repetitive behaviors. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Management says that one in 88 children in the US is somewhere on the Autism spectrum - an alarming ten-fold increase in the last four decades.

24 Oct 2012

Roundup: Wis. judge keeps law barring most collective bargaining on shelf; Study: Medicaid expansion could be costly after 2016; Doc shortage presaged in Las Vegas

A Wisconsin judge refused Monday to put on hold his earlier decision repealing major parts of Gov. Scott Walker's law effectively ending collective bargaining for most public workers.

24 Oct 2012

Individualized education model optimizes chances of success for children with autism

Students with autism have the best chances of success in school through an individualized education model that involves teachers, service providers and parents, according to a new book co-authored by John McGrew, Ph.D., and a psychology professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

20 Oct 2012

Updated second edition of autism toolkit from AAP

To help pediatricians in diagnosing and managing autism spectrum disorders in children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is offering an extensively revised and updated second edition of its autism toolkit, "Autism: Caring for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resource Toolkit for Clinicians." The toolkit will be launched Oct. 20 at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition in New Orleans.

20 Oct 2012

New way to image how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors

A team led by MIT neuroscientists has developed a way to monitor how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors, such as initiating movement or detecting an odor.

19 Oct 2012

New insights into wiring and firing of the social brain

New insights into the wiring and firing of the "social brain" in humans and primates reveals the brain areas important in altruistic motives and behavior, and the brain regions that respond to the pain of discrimination.

19 Oct 2012

People in creative professions are treated more often for mental illness

People in creative professions are treated more often for mental illness than the general population, there being a particularly salient connection between writing and schizophrenia. This according to researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, whose large-scale registry study is the most comprehensive ever in its field.

17 Oct 2012

Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Autism interventions are supported by varying levels of evidence, reveals new RAND study

Scientists sequence and analyze human genomes to discover many variants

Roundup: Texas will keep Planned Parenthood Women's Health Program for now; Kids' autism covered in Wash. Medicaid; UnitedHealth selling S.C. Medicaid biz

Dysfunction in SRGAP3 protein causes developmental brain disorders

SSRIs should be prescribed with great caution to those attempting to get pregnant

Development of children with ASD much like that of children without ASD at 6 months of age

SSRIs should be prescribed with great caution to those attempting to get pregnant

Study finds two distinct patterns of language, social and motor development in children with ASD

ESDM intervention can change brain function in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders

Empathetic and analytic thinking mutually exclusive in the brain

Study finds two distinct patterns of language, social and motor development in children with ASD

ESDM improves social skills and brain responses to social cues

Anterior insular cortex associated with human empathy

Link between autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia

Roundup: Wis. judge keeps law barring most collective bargaining on shelf; Study: Medicaid expansion could be costly after 2016; Doc shortage presaged in Las Vegas

Individualized education model optimizes chances of success for children with autism

Updated second edition of autism toolkit from AAP

New way to image how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors

New insights into wiring and firing of the social brain

People in creative professions are treated more often for mental illness

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

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