Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Research has important implications for autism

New research from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute helps to explain why children with autism spectrum disorders (autism) have problem-solving difficulties.

24 Oct 2005

Newly discovered role of MECP2 gene in Rett Syndrome

Huda Zoghbi, of Baylor College of Medicine and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Juan Young, also of Baylor and colleagues report in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, posted the week of October 17, 2005, that the Rett Syndrome gene, MECP2, regulates RNA splicing.

18 Oct 2005

No credible evidence behind claims of harm from the MMR vaccination

There was no credible evidence behind claims of harm from the MMR vaccination. This is the conclusion drawn by the Cochrane Review Authors, an international team of researchers, after carefully drawing together all of the evidence found in 31 high quality studies from around the world.

18 Oct 2005

Pathological liars found to have less gray matter

In a new study Dr. Adrian Raine and Yaling Yang of the University of Southern California, and colleagues found that individuals who habitually lied and cheated had less gray matter and more white matter in their prefrontal cortex than normal people.

18 Oct 2005

Breath-analysis testing may prove to be an effective method for detecting the damaging lung-bacteria growth seen in cystic fibrosis

By using a chemical analysis method developed for air-pollution testing, UCI chemists and pediatricians have found that people with cystic fibrosis exhale higher concentrations of sulfur compounds from their lungs than do people who don't have the disease.

17 Oct 2005

Rett syndrome discovery

The gene responsible for Rett syndrome, a devastating neurological disease found mostly in girls, not only silences some genes but in combination with another also regulates alternative splicing, crucial to the formation of proteins -- a finding that may explain the symptoms associated with this puzzling disorder and others related to it

17 Oct 2005

New information regarding the genetic, cellular and neurological bases of susceptibility to autism and schizophrenia

Two New Jersey research teams are reporting discoveries about the biological nature of psychiatric disorders that may bring them closer to the ultimate goal of finding cures for complex diseases, such as autism and schizophrenia.

9 Oct 2005

Brain abnormalities in people who habitually lie

While previous research has shown that there is heightened activity in the prefrontal cortex - the area of the brain that enables most people to feel remorse or learn moral behavior - when normal people lie, this is the first study to provide evidence of structural differences in that area among pathological liars.

3 Oct 2005

HOXA1 is a gene that's been looking for a disorder for a long time

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, who specialize in studying the genetics of rare eye-movement disorders, have found a rare genetic syndrome whose implications go far beyond the eye, raising intriguing questions about human cardiovascular and brain development.

12 Sep 2005

Teenage drug use can lead to adult addiction and heart attack

A new study from the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne may help explain why people who experimented with amphetamines, such as 'speed', as teenagers are more likely to become addicted and more susceptible to heart attack following re-use of the drug as adults.

30 Aug 2005

5-year-old British autistic boy dies after alternative therapy in U.S.

A 5-year-old British autistic boy has died after undergoing a controversial form of alternative therapy.

29 Aug 2005

Protein snapin has potential as a drug target in therapies aimed at learning and memory disorders

Rutgers' Bonnie Firestein likens nerve cells to trees -- some are short and bushy with many branches while others are tall with a few branches coming out of one or two main trunks. Different branching patterns correlate with specific disorders and Firestein's quest is to discover how these dissimilar patterns come about and why.

25 Aug 2005

Family-based treatments are effective for substance abuse

Family-based treatments are effective for substance abuse and conduct disorders in children and adolescents, according to a new, ten-year research review released this week. The treatment also helps reduce the behavior problems associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and shows promise in treating depression and anxiety.

11 Aug 2005

First evidence that complex genetic interactions account for autism risk

Using a novel analysis of the interactions among related genes, Duke University Medical Center researchers have uncovered some of the first evidence that complex genetic interactions account for autism risk. The Duke team found that the brain mechanism that normally stops or slows nerve impulses contributes to the disease.

3 Aug 2005

Steady upward climb in child vaccinations

According to U.S. health officials, a record high rate of 81 percent of toddlers 19 months to 3 years old are now getting vaccinated with the full recommended series.

27 Jul 2005

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome difficult to diagnose

Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome can be difficult to diagnose and should have guidelines for diagnostic testing, according to a study in the July 26 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology. A second study found chemotherapy aggravated symptoms in one woman's case.

25 Jul 2005