Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Latona acquires patent rights and orphan drug status to drug compound for rheumatoid arthritis

Latona Life Sciences Inc. announced today that it has entered into two agreements for the acquisition of patent rights and orphan drug status to a novel late-stage drug, trademarked "Oralgam," for the treatment of Juvenile and Adult Rheumatoid Arthritis.

24 Apr 2008

New insight into how the nervous system processes sensory information

The Stowers Institute's Yu Lab has published the results of large-scale imaging experiments examining how social signals are represented in the sensory system.

24 Apr 2008

Functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals brain circuitry associated with social status

Human imaging studies have for the first time identified brain circuitry associated with social status, according to researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of the National Institutes of Health.

23 Apr 2008

Keep children's health in mind

If there is any real purpose to the 2020 summit, it could be to establish a national program of research, clinical and community activity that would deliver a 21st century response to the real child and youth mental health problems that our society creates.

18 Apr 2008

Some kids with autism may have a genetic defect that affects the muscles

...according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 12-19, 2008.

13 Apr 2008

Autism is on the rise, why?

There is no question that autism is on the rise and the statistics speak volumes about this dramatic increase," says Michelle Rowe, Ph.D., a professor of health services at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.

9 Apr 2008

Rise in autism related to changes in diagnosis

Research funded by the Wellcome Trust suggests that many children diagnosed with severe language disorders in the 1980s and 1990s would today be diagnosed as having autism.

9 Apr 2008

Expert warns of anti-psychotic drugs use in children

Research from Britain is suggesting that an increasing number of children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs to treat a range of conditions which are not licensed for use in children.

9 Apr 2008

Parents follow pediatrician advice on administering MMR vaccinations

News stories about an allegedly harmful link between the mumps, measles and rubella vaccine and the onset of autism had little effect on whether U.S. parents immunized their children, according to a review of immunization records and news stories.

7 Apr 2008

Discovery of role of rare gene mutations in schizophrenia

Using an important new method that can be applied in the study of other psychiatric illnesses, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Washington (UW) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), have identified multiple, individually rare gene mutations in people with schizophrenia that may help explain how that devastating illness is caused.

31 Mar 2008

Disruption of the Contactin 4 gene on chromosome 3 may be linked to autism spectrum disorder

Eli Hatchwell, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at Stony Brook University Medical Center, and colleagues have found that a disruption of the Contactin 4 gene on chromosome 3 may be linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

20 Mar 2008

Contemplative brain network less complex in children

A brain network linked to introspective tasks - such as forming the self-image or understanding the motivations of others - is less intricate and well-connected in children, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned.

10 Mar 2008

Brain network linked to contemplation in adults is less complex in children

10 Mar 2008

Integrin beta3 protein yields clues to autism

Many children with autism have elevated blood levels of serotonin - a chemical with strong links to mood and anxiety.

6 Mar 2008

Profound financial life changes plague families of children with autism

The information that a child has been diagnosed with autism often throws parents into an emotional tailspin.

1 Mar 2008

Virtual peers being used to help kids with autism

Using "virtual peers" - animated life-sized children that simulate the behaviors and conversation of typically developing children - Northwestern University researchers are developing interventions designed to prepare children with autism for interactions with real-life children.

1 Mar 2008

State-to-state differences in quality of care for children with special needs

A new government survey reveals children with special health care needs, such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and asthma, don't consistently get the care that is federally recommended and that there are vast state-to-state differences.

28 Feb 2008

Neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback) may help those with autism

Research on autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) shows that neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback) can remediate anomalies in brain activation, leading to symptom reduction and functional improvement.

27 Feb 2008

Mother's immune system may play role in chilld's autism

The mothers of some autistic children may have made antibodies against their fetuses' brain tissue during pregnancy that crossed the placenta and caused changes that led to autism, suggests research led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center investigators and published in the February issue of the Journal of Neuroimmunology.

26 Feb 2008

Wyeth wins Maryland thimerosal autism case

Wyeth has announced that The Honorable Stuart R. Berger of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City in Baltimore, Maryland, has granted Wyeth's motion for summary judgment in the case of Blackwell, et al. v. Sigma Aldrich, Inc., et al - an alleged vaccine injury case claiming that Jamarr Blackwell's exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines caused him to become autistic.

20 Feb 2008