MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'autism research'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:17:40 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3621685&cid=t_105147_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fis-autism-caused-by-fertility-treatment%2F2010.06.01 In the latest media barrage on autism, fertility treatment has come into question as a possible cause for this increasingly common developmental disorder. The reason is two research abstracts recently presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Philadelphia. One study assessed the history of IVF (in vitro fertilization) among 574 children evaluated at a special center for autism in Israel. The researchers found that 10% of the group diagnosed as autistic had had IVF, compared to a background rate in the overall population which they quote as 3.5%. Not surprisingly, maternal age was higher in the IVF group and the rate of prematurity was higher in the autistic children. The second study was a look into a pre-existing database — the Nurse’s Health Study — ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3621685 Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:00:00 +0100 3621685 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3235816&cid=t_105147_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F9qno5ZtL_NU%2F It’s been more than a decade since the Lancet published a study that looked at 12 children and suggested a possible link between autism and the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. Today, the Lancet formally retracted the paper, a few days after a British panel said the lead author’s conduct was “irresponsible” and “misleading.” In its retraction, the Lancet said the paper’s claim that the patients had been “consecutively referred” to physicians was false. Instead, blood was taken from children at a birthday party, and they were paid £5 each, according to the panel. Also, the lead author received £50,000 in research funding from solicitors acting for parents who believed that their children had been harmed by MMR. But the author... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3235816 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:52:45 +0100 3235816 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2324263&cid=t_105147_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F-CVIgyamo38%2F From the e-letter Spectrum parent NYC at spectrumparentNYC@yahoogroups.com: “Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have proposed a sweeping new theory of autism that suggests that the brains of people with autism are structurally normal but dysregulated, meaning symptoms of the disorder might be reversible.” Image: FreeFoto.com “The central tenet of the theory, published in the March issue of Brain Research Reviews, is that autism is a developmental disorder caused by impaired regulation of the locus coeruleus, a bundle of neurons in the brain stem that processes sensory signals from all areas of the body.” The article adds how the new theory stems from “decades of anecdotal observations that some autistic children seem to imp... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2324263 Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:18:02 +0100 2324263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1810034&cid=t_105147_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F396287066%2F If some people are using a treatment that most doctors think doesn’t work and may involve some real risks, should public health officials study the intervention to get clear answers? That’s an ethically tricky question. The National Institute of Mental Health had proposed a study (described here) of a therapy called chelation to treat children with autism. Chelation, which is used to remove metals from the body, is popular among some parents, but most doctors and public health officials say there’s scant evidence its effective in treating autism. Yesterday, NIMH said it wouldn’t go forward with the study, which has been under discussion for a couple of years but never got started. An institutional review board that assessed the study found a while back that “t... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1810034 Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:37:59 +0100 1810034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1597076&cid=t_105147_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F329779635%2F Treating autism at a very young age can improve language skills and IQ scores. But the condition can be tough to detect in the very young, and often isn’t diagnosed until age 4 or so. Researchers are trying to change that by studying children as young as a few months old, paying special attention to the eyes, the WSJ reports. The video at left shows software that tracks how a baby looks at a human face. Most babies will look at a person’s eyes; if the person is speaking the baby will look at the mouth and other parts of the face. But researchers suspect autistic infants and toddlers tend to have different scanning patterns. It’s still early days for the research, which is going on at labs at Yale and Canada’s McMaster University, among others. But investigators ho... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1597076 Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:14:51 +0100 1597076 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1420712&cid=t_105147_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F283870896%2F Parents of children with autism are about twice as likely to have been hospitalized for mental disorders than parents of other kids, says a study published in the journal Pediatrics. Depression and personality disorders were more common among mothers but not fathers of autistic kids. The researchers found that schizophrenia was about twice as common in both mothers and fathers of children with autism. The link between parental disorders and a child’s autism was present regardless of whether the parent was diagnosed before or after the child. This pattern suggests that the association may be genetic, not a matter of a parent getting depressed over a child’s diagnosis. The work confirms earlier findings that showed psychiatric disorders are more common among family members of pe... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1420712 Mon, 05 May 2008 21:06:39 +0100 1420712 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1346288&cid=t_105147_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F262915642%2F In this study, which had a relatively small sample of 91 kids, 26% scored failed the autism screener. But having some autistic-like features is not the same thing as having autism, study author Catherine Limperopoulos of McGill University in Montreal told the Health Blog. It’s not clear that the symptoms are permanent or not; further testing would be needed to make a diagnosis. The work was designed to examine the health impact of premature births apart from well-studied consequences, such as cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The researchers tested 18 to 24-month-old kids for other types of cognitive delays, behavioral problems and social problems, Limperopoulos said. There were other risk factors associated with failing the autism screening tool in the study, including lower bi... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1346288 Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:13:13 +0100 1346288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1136846&cid=t_105147_123_f&fid=34778&url=http%3A%2F%2Fparentingsolved.typepad.com%2Fparenting_solved%2F2008%2F01%2Fits-final---aut.html Alert the media (and Jenny McCarthy), here’s another study showing that mercury-based preservatives in vaccines aren’t responsible for autism. The study published in this month’s Archives of General Psychiatry found that despite removal of thimerosal the prevalence of autism was unchanged between 1995 and 2007. Hopefully this will close the door on the Big Pharma witch hunt of the 20th century that undermined both the healthy and the afflicted. And on the subject of autism, a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics found that children with autism spectrum disorder tend to be less irritable when febrile. Interesting stuff. The study is unable to answer why this is the case although in their discussion the authors offer a number of potential mechanisms for the observed beh... Parenting Solved blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1136846 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:38:55 +0100 1136846 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1070262&cid=t_105147_97_f&fid=35050&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmaGazette%2F%7E3%2F195079003%2Ffever_may_suppress_autistic_beahviors.html Children with autism spectrum disorder may have improved behavior with the onset of a fever of at least 100.4F however, the behavioral change is transient.Dr. Andrew W. Zimmerman from the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and colleagues assessed the parent-reported behaviors of 30 autistic children aged 2 to 18 years during and after an episode of fever. They observed fewer aberrant behaviors as rated on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist. Less irritability, hyperactivity, stereotypy and inappropriate speech were reported. Unfortunately, all improvements in behavior were temporary."The majority of these subgroup comparisons suggested that behavior change was not a function of illness severity," Dr. Zimmerman and colleagues report. The effects of fever on behavior persisted in l... PharmaGazette blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1070262 Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:00:08 +0100 1070262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=934023&cid=t_105147_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F10%2F08%2Fautism-news-beat-a-round-up%2F NEW BLOGS FOR OLD There is a new blog on the block. Autism News Beat opened with this. “I’ve started this site as a resource for journalists looking for accurate, evidence-based information about autism. I plan to review and comment on print and electronic coverage of autism, and interview journalists, editors, and others to gain their perspectives [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=934023 Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:10:34 +0100 934023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=903397&cid=t_105147_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F09%2F26%2Fanother-window-opens%2F Early diagnosis of autism brings obvious benefits. It means you can make an early start to understanding your child and meeting their needs. Early intervention is generally agreed to be A Good Thing. Some people take it further and argue that early intervention is The Only Thing. There is supposed to be a limited window of opportunity while [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=903397 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:39:35 +0100 903397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=830008&cid=t_105147_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F08%2F29%2Fa-tale-of-two-autisms%2F The Sunday Times has published a thoughtful piece on autism by Mark Henderson, entitled ‘We ask ourselves, can we separate Alex and autism?’  Alex is 12 years old and described as being “at the less extreme end of the autistic spectrum.” This was not always the case. He regressed when he was 14 months old, losing speech and [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=830008 Wed, 29 Aug 2007 23:58:43 +0100 830008 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=692622&cid=t_105147_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F06%2F23%2Fnew-scientist-and-the-omnibus%2F New Scientist has published an interesting commentary on the Autism Omnibus  proceedings that are taking place in the United States Court of Federal Claims.  They are quite rightly sympathetic to the Cedillo family whose case is the first of around 4,800 that seek to establish whether or not thimerosal containing vaccines, MMR or a combination of the [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=692622 Sat, 23 Jun 2007 23:36:46 +0100 692622 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=683207&cid=t_105147_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F06%2F17%2Fdowns-but-not-out%2F Down’s syndrome novel tugs at America’s heartstrings Moving tale that highlights genetic condition becomes sleeper hit of the year Paul Harris in New York Sunday June 17, 2007 The Observer Like many good stories, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter begins on a dark and snowy night. But, unlike most first novels from barely known authors, the book has gone on to [...] (Source: Action For Autism) Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=683207 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:01:19 +0100 683207 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=631630&cid=t_105147_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F05%2F22%2Fscience-fiction-and-factions%2F THE APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE Kev has just blogged about a piece of research that examines the effects of Rhesus immune globulin (RhIg) on mothers of autistic children. RhIg is routinely given to pregnant women who are Rhesus negative to stop their immune systems from attacking their unborn babies. Because RhIg used to contain thimerosal, anti vaccine pressure groups who blame thimerosal for causing autism, have tried to implicate RhIg as well. A recent attempt to link an RhIg called Rhogam and Autism collapsed when the judge decided that the expert witnesses in the case were not up to the required standard. Kev blogged this as did Autism Diva, Orac, and Prometheus while Kathleen provided a HTML version of the decision on neurodiversity.com According to a press release issued by the Unive... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=631630 Wed, 23 May 2007 07:00:03 +0100 631630 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=486976&cid=t_105147_133_f&fid=35081&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmikestanton.wordpress.com%2F2007%2F02%2F11%2Frett-reversal-and-neurodiversity%2F Rett Syndrome is unusual amongst autistic spectrum disorders for two reasons It is far more common in girls than in boys. We know what causes it - a mutation of the gene MECP2 on the X-chromosome. Because it is genetic, Rett parents have not been chasing cures like some autism parents. This has made Rett syndrome a relatively quack free zone, so far. On Thursday a team of researchers led by Dr. Bird of the University of Edinburgh announced that they had successfully activated the MECP2 gene in mice using Tamoxifen and that this had led to a reversal of Rett like symptoms and an improvement in brain function. Kev and Kassiane have both blogged their concerns that the purveyors of autism quackery will try to exploit this and I share their concerns. Fortunately Dr. Bird is not only a very ... Action For Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=486976 Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:02:17 +0100 486976