Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Brain size and IQ secret may lie in genes: Study

The study, conducted by a team of more than 200 scientists from 100 institutions worldwide, measured the size of the brain and its memory centers in thousands of MRI images from 21,151 healthy people while simultaneously screening their DNA. According to the researchers, a variant in a gene called HMGA2 affected the brain size, as well as a person's intelligence.

18 Apr 2012

Conventional testing underestimates Rett Syndrome patients' cognitive abilities

Researchers at Montefiore Medical Center have identified, in a pilot study published in the April edition of Pediatric Neurology, that children with Rett Syndrome, who cannot speak or use their hands to communicate and therefore were thought to be unable to understand and process information, do in fact exhibit meaningful visual search whereby they can process and prioritize information.

18 Apr 2012

Genetic reach of autism may extend to half siblings

When a child has autism, siblings are also at risk for the disorder. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that the genetic reach of the disorder often extends to half siblings as well.

18 Apr 2012

New text on nursing of autism spectrum disorder

The growing number of children and adults on the autism spectrum represent a growing need for quality health care that is sensitive to the issues they face. This is the premise and challenge behind a new text, Nursing of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence-based Integrated Care across the Lifespan (Springer, April 2012), edited by Dr. Ellen Giarelli, an associate professor in Drexel's College of Nursing and Health Professions, with Dr. Marcia Gardner.

18 Apr 2012

Study finds lower cytokine levels in the plasma of children with autism

A University of Kansas Medical Center study found significantly lower levels of several cytokines, the immune system's messengers and regulators, in the plasma of children with autism disorder (AD) compared to that of unrelated healthy siblings from other families who had members with autism spectrum disorders.

17 Apr 2012

Gestational diabetes on the rise

Although the disease usually goes away after delivery, it can have permanent consequences. Not only can the mother be prone to develop diabetes later in life, but their babies are also at greater risk for chronic health problems.

16 Apr 2012

Genes linked to major brain functions and disorders

An international team of researchers have found the genes that increase or reduce the risk of certain mental illnesses and Alzheimer's disease. They claim that some genes that may explain individual differences in brain size and intelligence as well. The team of more than 200 scientists at 100 institutions said this was the largest-ever brain study to date.

16 Apr 2012

New genes may explain individual differences in brain size and intelligence

In the world's largest brain study to date, a team of more than 200 scientists from 100 institutions worldwide collaborated to map the human genes that boost or sabotage the brain's resistance to a variety of mental illnesses and Alzheimer's disease.

16 Apr 2012

Longer looks: Diagnosing autism in minutes; Finding new uses for old drugs; Cancer war victories

Autism is an extremely complex diagnosis. Parental insight, physician observations and hours of data can factor into determining whether a child actually has the condition or is just a little on the quirky side. Now a Harvard researcher, Dennis P. Wall, has published research about a Web-based tool he developed that promises to diagnose autism in minutes, not hours -

12 Apr 2012

New compound reverses major symptoms associated with FXS

A recent study finds that a new compound reverses many of the major symptoms associated with Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common form of inherited intellectual disability and a leading cause of autism. The paper, published by Cell Press in the April 12 issue of the journal Neuron, describes the exciting observation that the FXS correction can occur in adult mice, after the symptoms of the condition have already been established.

12 Apr 2012

Online tool can accurately diagnose autism within minutes

Researchers at Harvard Medical School have significantly reduced from hours to minutes the time it takes to accurately detect autism in young children.

12 Apr 2012

State roundup: Calif. essential benefits bill passes committee; Ariz. legislature OKs late-term abortion ban; States with longest doc waits

California Assemblyman Bill Monning, chair of the Assembly Committee on Health introduced AB 1453, which laid out a plan for what essential benefits will be covered in California under the Affordable Care Act. The proposed set of benefits is modeled on the Kaiser small group HMO plan

12 Apr 2012

The urgency of autism: Progress in combating it, even as diagnoses increase

News outlets examine progress being made in diagnosing autism and understanding its possible causes.

12 Apr 2012

Oxytocin may offer hope for male sexual dysfunction

The hormone oxytocin that is also called the “love hormone” since it plays a role in the bond between a mother and baby may also improve sexual function - at least in men with Asperger’s syndrome - according to a published case report.

10 Apr 2012

Autism linked to maternal obesity: Study

The study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows that compared to non-obese mothers those who were obese before pregnancy had a 1.6 times increase in the likelihood of having a child with autism.

10 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 10, 2012

In today's headlines, a new study finds that the health law, which has long been touted as a means to control costs, could add more than $340 billion to the nation's budget difficulties in the next ten years.

10 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Health law seeks to remedy broken insurance market; Overhaul was sunk by its complexity

Commentators look at some of the underlying issues of the health law which is being considered by the Supreme Court.

10 Apr 2012

Two CNVs may increase risk of aggressive prostate cancer

An international research team led by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators have discovered two inherited-genetic deletions in the human genome linked to development of aggressive prostate cancer.

10 Apr 2012

First study to examine links between neurodevelopmental disorders and maternal metabolic conditions

A major study of the relationships between maternal metabolic conditions and the risk that a child will be born with a neurodevelopmental disorder has found strong links between maternal diabetes and obesity and the likelihood of having a child with autism or another developmental disability.

9 Apr 2012

New technique reveals another piece of spectrum's genetic architecture

There is little argument among experts that autism spectrum disorders (ASD), complex developmental disabilities that vary widely in their severity, are caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Advances in genome sequencing now permit scientists to uncover specific mutations in DNA that are associated with ASD at unprecedented resolution. Such data are vital to understanding the genetic basis of the disorder.

6 Apr 2012