Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

KCMC uses Toshiba's diagnostic imaging systems to treat pediatric patients

As one of the leading pediatric centers in the United States, Kosair Children's Medical Center (KCMC) treats pediatric patients with conditions ranging from congenital heart disease to abdominal pain, to emergency trauma to juvenile diabetes and pediatric cancer.

20 Apr 2011

Swinburne University of Technology acquires Elekta's Neuromag TRIUX MEG system

Certain brain processes happen in the blink of an eye – and even faster – which has made pinpointing these events virtually impossible. The advent of magnetoencephalography (MEG) changed all that, enabling researchers to capture brain electrical activity measured in milliseconds, and offering the potential to reveal the nature of innumerable brain disorders and diseases.

From Elekta 20 Apr 2011

SafeMinds calls for immediate vaccine safety studies in autistic children

Alison MacNeil issued the following statements today regarding vaccines.

19 Apr 2011

New study finds treatment-resistant epilepsy common in idiopathic autism

A new study found that treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) is common in idiopathic autism. Early age at the onset of seizures and delayed global development were associated with a higher frequency of resistance to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Full findings appear online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE).

19 Apr 2011

Intellectual disability may have genetic origin, but is not hereditary

Mutations in a group of genes associated with brain activity frequently cause intellectual disability, according to a study led by scientists affiliated with the University of Montreal and the research centre at the Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine. Intellectual disability is a severe handicap that affects between one and two percent of children worldwide. It can often be attributed to genetic causes, but the specific genes involved were mostly unknown.

18 Apr 2011

Mortality rates increase 800% when epilepsy and autism occur together

A comprehensive investigation of brain tissue donated to the Autism Speaks Autism Tissue Program (ATP), a postmortem brain tissue donation program, determined that one-third of the brain donors with autism also had epilepsy, and co-morbidity data from the California State Department of Developmental Services revealed a higher than expected rate of mortality in individuals with both autism and epilepsy than for individuals with autism alone.

15 Apr 2011

State News: N.Y. billing for disabled patients questioned

While the nation's attention has been focused on state worker battles in union strongholds such as Ohio and Wisconsin, quiet but consequential labor battles are breaking out in Kansas, Texas and other states where collective bargaining rights for public workers were weak or non-existent to begin with. The outcome of these confrontations will have a big impact.

8 Apr 2011

First Edition: April 8, 2011

Today's headlines include stories tracking the partisan negotiations surrounding a current-year spending bill. Currently at an impasse, the differences between the GOP and Democrats as well as the White House surrounds more than just the total dollar figure attached to spending cuts. It also involves controversial "policy riders." Meanwhile, without resolution, a government shutdown is just hours away.

8 Apr 2011

Researchers identify new gene that predisposes people to both autism, epilepsy

Researchers from the CHUM Research Centre have identified a new gene that predisposes people to both autism and epilepsy.

8 Apr 2011

Roundup: Minn. approves deep health spending cuts; Mass. voters say state health law not working

In a pioneering bid to streamline the state's big health insurance programs, the Legislature's new Republican majority is poised to give thousands of low-income Minnesotans vouchers to buy coverage in the private marketplace.

8 Apr 2011

CoMeD urges UN to ban mercury use in pharmaceuticals

While the United Nations actively questions the use of a vaccine preservative that contains the known neurotoxin mercury, the Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs, a Maryland-based, non-profit organization, is urging the UN to ban it.

7 Apr 2011

Johns Hopkins scientists identify autism gene linked to severity of social interaction deficits

With the help of two sets of brothers with autism, Johns Hopkins scientists have identified a gene associated with autism that appears to be linked very specifically to the severity of social interaction deficits.

7 Apr 2011

Roundup: Minn. insurers to return profits above 1% from state plans; Fla. Medicaid managed care costs questioned

In part of the continuing change to Minnesota's business with health insurance plans, the state announced Tuesday that four major health plans agreed to a 1 percent cap on their profits on state business. The one-cap means that the plans -- BlueCross BlueShield, HealthPartners, Medica, and UCare -- will return any profit above 1 percent to the state next April.

7 Apr 2011

Affectionate communication may have positive impact on alexithymia sufferers

Every person has some level of alexithymia, as it is the personality trait which keeps people from sharing or even understanding their own emotions. Now, one University of Missouri researcher's latest study indicates that affectionate communication, such as hugging, could help those who have high levels of alexithymia lead more fulfilling lives.

7 Apr 2011

Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention in autism continues to be questioned in Quebec

Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention, the most highly recommended, comprehensively researched and universally recognized treatment for autism, continues to be questioned, underfunded and ultimately threatened - but only in Quebec.

6 Apr 2011

Socioeconomic factors still influence autism diagnosis

While there is an increasing equality in terms of the likelihood that children from communities and families across the socioeconomic spectrum will be diagnosed with autism, a new study finds that such factors still influence the chance of an autism diagnosis, though to a much lesser extent than they did at the height of rising prevalence.

6 Apr 2011

Elevated levels of sodium limit body's natural responses to stress

All those salty snacks available at the local tavern might be doing more than increasing your thirst: They could also play a role in suppressing social anxiety.

6 Apr 2011

State roundup: Report urges Mass. city employees to pay more health costs

Officially, Minnesota doesn't pay for an intensive type of autism therapy. Yet it has -- but only for some families. Two years ago, a single mother in the Twin Cities asked the state Medicaid program to pay for an intensive type of autism therapy for her 2-year-old son. She was turned down. State officials said the treatment -- known as Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA -- is "not now, and never has been,'' a covered service.

6 Apr 2011

More studies needed to identify which specific autism treatments are helpful for specific children

Vanderbilt researchers evaluating existing treatments for children with autism spectrum disorders found although there were positive results in some studies, there is little information to target the right treatments to specific children.

5 Apr 2011

Scientists identify gene influencing levels of alcohol consumption

Scientists have identified a gene that appears to play a role in regulating how much alcohol people drink, in a study of over 47,000 people published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

5 Apr 2011