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Mutations in 2 Genes Linked to Rare Autism-Related Disorder
Posted 17 days ago by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 26 – Newly discovered mutations in two adjacent genes cause a rare genetic brain condition called Joubert syndrome, according to a new study. People with Joubert syndrome have malformation or underdevelopment of the cerebellum and brainstem, resulting in a range of physical and mental disabilities such as poor muscle control and mental retardation. As many as four in 10 people with Joubert syndrome meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis and other neurocognitive disorders, according to background information in a news release about the research. In the study, a team led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers found that mutations in two adjacent genes – TMEM216 and TMEM138 – cause Joubert syndrome. "It is extraordinarily rare for two adjacent genes to cause the same human disease," team leader Dr. Joseph Gleeson, a professor of ... Read more
Related support groups: Autism
'Inner Dialogue' Might Aid People With Autism
Posted 18 days ago by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25 – Learning to "talk things through in their head" could help people with autism make plans and complete complex daily tasks, researchers say. These skills might increase the likelihood that people with autism can live independent, flexible lives, according to the study led by a team at Durham University in England. The researchers compared how 15 high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder and 16 adults without the disorder completed a test that measures planning ability as well as a short-term memory task. Autism is characterized by repetitive behaviors and difficulty with communication and social interactions. The researchers said that the use or non-use of thinking in words is strongly associated with the degree of communication problems that are rooted in early childhood. The researchers said that children with autism have the mechanism for using "inner ... Read more
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Can Low Birth Weight Raise Autism Risk?
Posted 19 days ago by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 24 – After studying data on more than 3,700 pairs of identical twins, researchers from Northwestern University found that low birth weight was associated with more than triple the risk for autism spectrum disorder among twins in which autism only affected one of the children. "That only one twin is affected by ASD [autism spectrum disorder] in some identical twin pairs suggests that environmental factors may play a role either independently or in interaction with autism risk genes," study author Molly Losh, director of Northwestern's Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Laboratory, said in a university news release. "Our study of discordant twins – twin pairs in which only one twin was affected by ASD – found birth weight to be a very strong predictor of autism spectrum disorder," she added. The study, which was released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print ... Read more
Related support groups: Autism, Prematurity/Underweight in Infancy
'Co-Occurring' Disorders May Explain Change in Autism Diagnosis
Posted 23 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 23 – Many children with autism also have other developmental or psychiatric conditions, including learning disabilities, speech delays, attention or seizure disorders and anxiety. According to new research, some of those co-occurring conditions may explain why autism diagnoses often change as children get older. In a survey by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, more than one-third of parents with children between 6 and 17 years old reported that their child's diagnosis of autism had changed over time. "We don't know what changed the diagnosis. However, we want to deliver the message that it's important to look at the other coexisting conditions, evaluate them before you make a diagnosis, and also recognize these conditions vary by development age," said study author Li-Ching Lee, an associate scientist in the epidemiology and ... Read more
Related support groups: Anxiety, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism, Psychiatric Disorders
Smoking During Pregnancy Not Linked to Autism
Posted 22 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Jan. 20 – Children born to women who smoke during pregnancy are not at increased risk for autism, according to a new study. Smoking during pregnancy has been considered a possible cause of autism in children due to known links between smoking and behavioral disorders and obstetric complications, but previous studies of a connection between smoking during pregnancy and autism have had mixed results. In this study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 4,000 Swedish children with autism and a control group of 39,000 children without autism. The results showed that 19.8 percent of the children in the autism group and 18.4 percent of those in the control group had mothers who smoked during pregnancy. The study was published online in December in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and will appear in a upcoming print issue. "We found no evidence that maternal smoking ... Read more
Experts Weigh Changes to Definition of Autism
Posted 20 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Jan. 20 – The number of people diagnosed with autism will likely decrease if a new definition of the disorder is adopted by mental health experts later this year. Doctors aren't sure what the implications of the changes will be, but they agree there will be an impact on the lives of people with autism and the professionals who treat them. The changes could affect the number of people eligible for health, educational and social services. But some experts contend that a clearer definition of autism is needed because the current definition is too hazy and may have contributed to an exaggerated number of people with the developmental disorder. "This is not an academic exercise," said Geraldine Dawson, the chief science officer for Autism Speaks, an advocacy organization, and a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "These changes in the ... Read more
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Is Continued Lip-Reading an Early Sign of Autism?
Posted 16 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 16 – Lip reading is one of the ways that infants learn to talk, a new study reports. The finding challenges the conventional belief that infants learn to talk only by listening to people around them, according to the Florida Atlantic University researchers. They also said their discovery may suggest new ways to diagnose autism spectrum disorders. Videos of women speaking were shown to infants who were 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months old, and the researchers recorded how much time the babies spent looking at the eyes and mouth of the women. The findings are published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Our research found that infants shift their focus of attention to the mouth of the person who is talking when they enter the babbling stage and that they continue to focus on the mouth for several months thereafter until they master the ... Read more
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Little Known About How Autism Affects Teen Drivers: Researchers
Posted 12 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 12 – Two-thirds of driving-age American teens with a high-functioning autism spectrum disorder are currently driving or plan to drive, and these teens have a number of common characteristics, a new study says. People with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, or HFASDs, have subtle impairments in social interaction, communication, motor skills and coordination. They also have difficulty regulating emotions. Many of these skills are used when driving, noted the researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies. "Little is known about how HFASDs affect a person's ability to drive safely," study lead author and developmental pediatrician Dr. Patty Huang said in a hospital news release. "Over the past decade, the rate of children diagnosed with an HFASD has increased, meaning that more of those kids are now approaching ... Read more
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Autism Gastro Problems May Be Linked to Gut Bacteria
Posted 11 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 10 – Children with autism have bacteria in their gut that is different from the bacteria seen in kids who do not have the disorder, researchers have found. In their report, published Jan. 10 in the online journal mBio, researchers from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City suggested that this finding could help explain the link between autism and gastrointestinal problems, such as inflammation. The study authors added, however, it is still unclear if these differences are a cause of autism or a result of the condition. "The relationship between different microorganisms and the host and the outcomes for disease and development is an exciting issue," the study's editor, Christine Biron, a professor of medical science at Brown University, said in an American Society for Microbiology news release. "This paper is important because it ... Read more
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Blink Patterns May Be a Window Into Autistic Mind
Posted 12 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Dec. 12 – Toddlers with autism show different blink patterns than other children, a finding that researchers say may provide a clue to the way people with autism process what they see. Blinking is largely an involuntary process that helps keep the eyes hydrated and protected. During that split second that your eyes are closed, you are temporarily blinded. And throughout a typical day, adults spend about 44 minutes with their eyes closed. The current study got started when Sarah Shultz, a graduate student at the Yale Child Study Center, noticed that kids blink less often when watching videos. She and her colleagues wondered: Would kids with autism, who have impairments in social communications, including reading facial expressions and interacting with others, show the same blink timing? In the study, researchers had 93 typically developing children and children with an autism ... Read more
Related support groups: Autism
Fetal Exposure to Epilepsy Drug Might Raise Autism Risk: Study
Posted 5 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Dec. 5 – Children exposed to the epilepsy drug valproate have a nearly three times higher risk of having an autism spectrum disorder, new research finds. Researchers in Denmark used national birth data that included nearly 656,000 children born in that country between 1996 and 2006 to 428,000 women. Using a national prescription drug registry, they identified women who had filled a prescription for valproate (Depakote) shortly before pregnancy through the day of the child's birth. Using the Danish Psychiatric Register, researchers then identified children who were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, which can include both severe and milder forms of autism, and children with early-onset, more severe autism. After taking into account certain factors such as maternal age, the child's gender and other factors that influence autism risk, researchers found that children ... Read more
Related support groups: Depakote, Epilepsy, Depakote ER, Autism, Divalproex Sodium, Depakote Sprinkles
Autistic Teens With Epilepsy Often Light-Sensitive
Posted 5 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Dec. 5 – Teenagers with autism who also have epilepsy often suffer from photosensitivity, or light sensitivity, researchers say. The combination means that certain behaviors common among autistic kids – such as flapping their hands in front of their faces – could increase their risk for photosensitive seizures. Although photosensitivity occurs in up to 14 percent of children with epilepsy, the rate jumps to 30 percent among teens suffering from both epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders, researchers from Children's Hospital Boston discovered. "Our study found a high overall incidence of photosensitivity in 25 percent of children over 15 years of age with autism spectrum disorder, and an even higher rate of 29.4 percent in that age group of children who had both epilepsy and autism," study author Jill Miller-Horn said in a news release from the American Epilepsy Society. ... Read more
Prozac Might Ease Repetitive Behaviors in Some Adults With Autism
Posted 2 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Dec. 2 – The antidepressant Prozac may help ease repetitive behaviors in some adults with autism, a new study indicates. Researchers randomly assigned 37 adults with autism to take either Prozac (fluoxetine) or a placebo for 12 weeks. The study participants had difficulties with repetitive behaviors, such as arm flapping, as well as issues with restricted interests or agitation when their routines were disrupted, explained senior study author Dr. Eric Hollander, a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the Autism and Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. After three months, 50 percent of the group receiving fluoxetine showed a reduction in repetitive behaviors as assessed using a scale that measures obsessive-compulsive symptoms compared to 8 percent in the ... Read more
Related support groups: Prozac, Fluoxetine, Autism, Sarafem, Prozac Weekly, Rapiflux, Selfemra
Head Size Tied to Regressive Autism in Boys
Posted 28 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Nov. 28 – Boys with regressive autism have a larger head circumference and bigger brains than other children, a new study finds. The differences in head size weren't detected when the boys were newborns. However, at age 4 to 6 months, boys who went on to be diagnosed with regressive autism tended to have significantly larger heads than other kids, according to the study. In regressive autism, children appear to develop normally or near normally and then markedly lose language and social skills between 18 and 24 months. Researchers did not find larger heads and bigger brains among girls with regressive autism or children of either gender with early-onset autism, which emerges by about age 1 year. Even though the symptoms of regressive autism don't become obvious until children are approaching their second birthday, the findings suggest that whatever processes are occurring that ... Read more
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Little Social Life for Autistic Teens, Researchers Say
Posted 23 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 23 – Teens with autism are far less likely than other teens to have a social life outside of school, a new study reports. U.S. researchers analyzed national data on more than 11,000 teens enrolled in special education and found that among those with autism, 43 percent never see friends outside of school, 54 percent never get called by friends and about half are never invited to social activities. For teens with autism, "it appears that experiences with peers are more likely to occur one-on-one, and perhaps at home rather than in the community," study author Paul Shattuck, an autism expert and assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, said in a university news release. He noted that having limited or no social relationships with peers can have a harmful effect on mental and physical health, particularly during the teen years. One way ... Read more
Related support groups: Autism
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