Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Researchers create SketchUp program to help kids with autism

These days, we hear a lot about the disorder of autism, but researchers at the University of Utah have created a program that helps kids with autism focus on building their skills and utilizing an aptitude for visual-spatial thinking, computers and other electronic media.

10 Jan 2012

First study to investigate driving in teens with high-functioning autism disorder

In the first study to investigate driving as it relates to teens with a high-functioning autism disorder (HFASD), child development and teen driving experts at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies found that two-thirds of teenagers with a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) who are of legal driving age in their state are currently driving or plan to drive.

9 Jan 2012

Blacklisted British doctor sues journal

A British doctor who lost his medical license in the U.K. in 2010 and who was accused in a journal last year of publishing bogus research filed a defamation suit this week in state District Court in Travis County.

9 Jan 2012

Scientists identify two genes involved in major symptoms of MeCP2 duplication disorder

The anxiety and behavioral issues associated with excess MeCP2 protein result from overexpression of two genes (Crh [corticotropin-releasing hormone] and Oprm 1 [mu-opioid receptor MOR 1]), which may point the way to treating these problems in patients with too much of the protein, said Baylor of Medicine scientists in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Genetics.

8 Jan 2012

Scientists map neurons that process different kinds of visual information

There's a 3-D world in our brains. It's a landscape that mimics the outside world, where the objects we see exist as collections of neural circuits and electrical impulses.

7 Jan 2012

Oxytocin can make rhesus macaques pay more attention to each other

Oxytocin, the "love hormone" that builds mother-baby bonds and may help us feel more connected toward one another, can also make surly monkeys treat each other a little more kindly.

6 Jan 2012

FSU, First Signs and Autism Speaks introduce new treatment section of Video Glossary

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, together with First Signs, a leader in educating parents and professionals about the early signs of autism and related disorders, and Florida State University's Autism Institute today announced the launch of a new treatment section of its acclaimed online Autism Video Glossary, giving parents an important new tool as they work to determine the best treatment options for their child.

6 Jan 2012

UCSD scientist honored for Down syndrome research

William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Chairman of the U.S. Scientific Advisory Committee of the J-r-me Lejeune Foundation, was recognized by U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions from the floor of the House of Representatives in December. Sessions said of Mobley - who received the International Sisley-J-r-me Lejeune Prize in a ceremony at the Museum of Medical History in Paris on December 8.

5 Jan 2012

Amyloid precursor protein fragment may be a biomarker for autism

Immune system abnormalities that mimic those seen with autism spectrum disorders have been linked to the amyloid precursor protein (APP), reports a research team from the University of South Florida's Department of Psychiatry and the Silver Child Development Center.

4 Jan 2012

Current scientific understanding of left and right-handedness

Left-handedness is sometimes the expression of a genetic defect or an early developmental disturbance. In this issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Stefan Gutwinski and coauthors present the current scientific understanding of left- and right-handedness.

28 Dec 2011

LincRNAs play key roles during embryonic brain development

Whitehead Institute scientists have identified conserved, long intervening non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) that play key roles during embryonic brain development in zebrafish. They also show that the human versions of the lincRNAs can substitute for the zebrafish versions, which implies that the functions of these non-coding RNAs have been retained in humans as well as fish.

23 Dec 2011

New way to awaken paternal Ube3a allele linked with Angelman syndrome

Results of a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may help pave the way to a treatment for a neurogenetic disorder often misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy or autism.

22 Dec 2011

Autism Speaks announces 47 new ASD research grants

Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the awarding of 47 new research grants totaling $13,242,279 in funding over the next three years.

22 Dec 2011

CNVs appear to play a significant role in early onset bipolar disorder

An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, reports that abnormal sequences of DNA known as rare copy number variants, or CNVs, appear to play a significant role in the risk for early onset bipolar disorder.

22 Dec 2011

IRSF announces new grants for research into Rett syndrome

The International Rett Syndrome Foundation (IRSF) announced today that it is awarding over $1.5M to support 18 new grants designed to study a variety of diverse topics from basic science and disease pathology to developing treatments and outcome measures for Rett syndrome.

20 Dec 2011

NYC Council Member celebrates re-launch of Einstein's Gruss MRRC

At a morning ceremony today, New York City Council Member James Vacca, along with administrators and faculty members of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, celebrated the re-launch of Einstein's Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center.

17 Dec 2011

EPA rule to help protect kids' brain from autism

SafeMinds sees a brighter future after the implementation of long-overdue EPA regulation of hazardous air pollution from coal-fired power plants. Less mercury means its potent neurotoxic effects are less likely to harm childhood development.

16 Dec 2011

Vaginal progesterone reduces rate of preterm birth and neonatal complications

A team of investigators of the National Institutes of Health housed at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) and Wayne State University (WSU) published today that performing a cervical ultrasound in all pregnant women and treating those with a short cervix with vaginal progesterone reduces the rate of preterm birth and neonatal complications.

15 Dec 2011

Small genetic changes may increase risk of schizophrenia

Carrying single DNA letter changes from two different genes together may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, Johns Hopkins researchers reported in the November 16 issue of Neuron.

15 Dec 2011

Fast Forward, Lineagen to fund clinical development and validation of blood-based assay for MS

Lineagen, Inc., an innovative molecular diagnostics company focused on complex, genetically linked disorders, and Fast Forward, LLC, a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, today announced an alliance to fund the clinical development and validation of a blood-based assay for multiple sclerosis.

15 Dec 2011