Feature Channels: Autism

• share
• favorite_border

Why do some adolescents take more risks than others? New research from University of Delaware Biomedical Engineer Curtis Johnson and graduate student Grace McIlvain suggests that two centers in the adolescent brain, one that makes them want to take risks and the other prevents them from acting on those impulses, physically mature at different rates and that adolescents with large differences in the rate of development between these two brain regions are more likely to be risk-takers.

• share
• favorite_border

A study on serotonin, a mood-regulating molecule in the brain that regulates many brain synapses, is helping to unravel the puzzle surrounding its role in autism. The activity and regulation of the serotonin transporter (SERT), protein is critically dependent on a number of other proteins that tell the protein where to locate on nerve cells and how to act. Shifts in the transporter’s activity can significantly impact the ability of serotonin to act in the brain.

• share
• favorite_border

Developing a physiological test for diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one that measures certain components in the blood, has the potential to be a paradigm shift for diagnosing ASD. However, the large heterogeneity of how ASD affects individuals has long been viewed as a key obstacle to the development of such a test. Research conducted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and published online today in the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, represents a significant step toward addressing this challenge.

• share
• favorite_border

Molecules known as tRNAs are often overlooked in studies of disease processes. Researchers have now found that a mutation in a tRNA gene called n-Tr20—expressed only in the brain—can disrupt the landscape of entire cells, leading to chain reactions that alter brain function and behavior.

• share
• favorite_border

Using a simple 'thermometer scale survey' to measure public attitudes towards people with autism could help improve public understanding and acceptance, say researchers.

• share
• favorite_border

Study identifies genetic link between cholesterol alterations and autism. Lipid abnormalities found in nearly 7 percent of individuals diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder. Results can inform the design of precision-targeted therapies for this form of autism. Findings set the stage for studies to determine the clinical value of lipid abnormalities as biomarkers for autism.

• share
• favorite_border

Most of modern medicine has physical tests or objective techniques to define much of what ails us.

• share
• favorite_border

Children with autism born to mothers who had immune conditions during their pregnancy are more likely to have behavioral and emotional problems, a UC Davis Health study has found. Offspring sex may also interact with maternal immune conditions to influence outcomes, particularly in terms of a child’s cognition.

• share
• favorite_border

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rarely diagnosed until symptoms arise, often well into childhood. Evidence however, is mounting that developmental abnormalities likely emerge in the brain long before then: early identification of babies at risk for ASD could allow for interventions that would improve their developmental outcomes.

• share
• favorite_border

A new UC Davis Health study found that common gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation and bloating are linked to troubling sleep problems, self-harm and physical complaints in preschool children. According to the study, published Aug. 6 in Autism Research, these GI symptoms are much more common and potentially disruptive in young kids with autism.

• share
• favorite_border

A study led by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai found that two different blood epigenetic signatures associated with ADNP syndrome (also known as Helsmoortel-Van Der Aa syndrome) have only a modest correlation with clinical manifestations of the syndrome.

• share
• favorite_border

The changes in the environment and biodiversity brought on by climate change could be responsible for increases in allergies, autoimmune diseases and autism, according to a Rutgers researcher

• share
• favorite_border

We may not think about it often, but our gut is home to a complex ecosystem of microorganisms that play a critical role in how we function.

• share
• favorite_border

New UC San Diego Dissemination and Implementation Science Center provides researchers and practitioners with the training, technical assistance, mentoring and resources needed to implement their findings in real-world settings.

• share
• favorite_border

A team led by UT Southwestern researchers has identified brain circuitry that plays a key role in the dysfunctional social, repetitive, and inflexible behavioral differences that characterize autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The findings, published online this week in Nature Neuroscience, could lead to new therapies for these relatively prevalent disorders.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are recruiting eligible children between the ages of seven and fourteen years for a Phase III clinical trial to determine whether cannabidiol (CBD) reduces severe behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorder.

• share
• favorite_border

Penn State researchers have developed a new method for studying key moments in brain development.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai have started recruiting participants for a new clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of a low dose of ketamine in children diagnosed with ADNP syndrome (also known as Helsmoortel-VanDerAa syndrome), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in the activity dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) gene.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study from Penn Medicine lends further evidence that the social behaviors tied to autism spectrum disorders (ASD) emerge from abnormal function of sensory neurons outside the brain.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands have identified mutations in a gene called CNOT1 that affect brain development and impair memory and learning. The research, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, also revealed that CNOT1 interacts with several known autism spectrum disorder (ASD) genes, opening new research avenues for the condition.

• share
• favorite_border

Dr. Laura Mead Offers Support for Parents of Children With Autism in FREEE Webinar - June 19 @ 10am, EST

• share
• favorite_border

A mouse study by Craig Powell, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues suggests that early genetic rescue may be a potential therapy in autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. Powell looked at one gene called SHANK3, whose alteration is seen in about 0.5 percent of ASD patients.

• share
• favorite_border

School-based mindfulness programs can improve decision-making skills and teach children with autism to focus attention and react less impulsively through breathing exercises that will allow them to reduce anxiety, according to Rutgers researchers.

• share
• favorite_border

A UC Davis MIND Institute study found that around 30% of young children with autism have less severe autism symptoms at age 6 than they did at age 3, with some losing their autism diagnoses entirely. It also found that girls tend to show greater reduction and less rise in their autism symptom severity than boys with autism. Children with higher IQs were more likely to show a reduction in their symptoms.

• share
• favorite_border

Inoculation with a beneficial microorganism during pregnancy fended off an autism-like syndrome in offspring, according to a new animal study. The paper is the latest to suggest that 'good bacteria' impacts the brain.

• share
• favorite_border

Dr. Adrien A. Eshraghi and University of Miami Health System coauthors published a new correspondence titled COVID-19: overcoming the challenges faced by individuals with autism and their families in The Lancet Psychiatry. In this commentary, the authors address specific challenges patients with autism and their families might encounter during the pandemic, as well as what healthcare providers should know and do to ensure optimal and safe care.

• share
• favorite_border

The HANDS in Autism® Interdisciplinary Training & Resource Center at IUPUI launched a Coronavirus Hub for educators, families, and medical professionals to assist them in helping individuals with autism spectrum disorder cope during the pandemic.

• share
• favorite_border

Adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with typical development show similar proactive cognitive control. However, symptoms of depression in individuals with autism were linked to less proactive control, a UC Davis study found.

• share
• favorite_border

A new brain imaging study of prairie voles—which are among only about 5% of mammalian species besides humans who mate for life —found that when it comes to forming bonds, longing for one another may be as important as being together. The study also sheds light on why it's so hard to social distance.

• share
• favorite_border

The Institute for Play Therapy Education at South Dakota State University is the first in the state to become an Association for Play Therapy-approved center.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have created 3D tissue structures that recapitulate many aspects of specific human brain regions.

• share
• favorite_border

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with finding and maintaining employment, which is an important key to helping them achieve lifelong success. To create a bridge toward employment, the Benjamin J. Geigerman Lecture Series was created at UTHealth.

• share
• favorite_border

Improper removal of faulty brain cells during neurodevelopment may cause lifelong behavioral issues, new research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine suggests. The finding also could have important implications for a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

• share
• favorite_border

As Australia’s teachers strive to shift education online, parents everywhere are bracing for change, but no more so than parents of children with additional needs such as autism, who fear their kids may be left behind in the race to adjust.

• share
• favorite_border

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, ACSM partners with ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist® to share three evidence-based teaching strategies to help get those with autism moving

• share
• favorite_border

As every teacher will assert, self-regulation is the key to optimal learning; it helps kids tune in, stay focussed and be ready to learn. But what if your child isn’t wired this way? For many children, self-regulation is hard to master, but for kids on the autism spectrum, it can seem insurmountable, singling them out and creating barriers to their learning.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health contributed to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that finds the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among 11 surveillance sites as 1 in 54 among children aged 8 years in 2016 (or 1.85 percent).

• share
• favorite_border

For the eighth consecutive year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds autism prevalence increased in the United States

• share
• favorite_border

Expressive language sampling yielded five language-related outcome measures that may be useful for treatment studies in intellectual disabilities, especially fragile X syndrome. The measures were generally valid and reliable across the range of ages, IQs and autism symptom severity of participants. According to the study, led by UC Davis researchers and funded by NIH, the measures are also functional in supporting treatments that can improve language, providing far reaching benefits for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study led by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) shows that a set of simple questionnaires can help clinicians and families better evaluate the quality of life of people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The newly-developed tool is designed for children, adolescents, and adults on the autism spectrum, and early findings show where clinicians can learn more about how to support the needs of autistic individuals by directly asking them these critical questions.

• share
• favorite_border

Wealthy, white California counties—once considered the nation’s hotbeds for autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—have seen prevalence flatten or fall in the last two decades, while rates among poor whites and minorities keep ticking up, new CU Boulder research has found.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have demonstrated the use of stem-cell-derived “mini-brains” to detect harmful side effects of a common drug on the developing brain. Mini-brains are miniature human brain models, developed with human cells and barely visible to the human eye, whose cellular mechanisms mimic those of the developing human brain.

• share
• favorite_border

The UC Davis MIND Institute’s Collaborative START Lab behind three of the top 10 autism studies of 2019. The studies explore early interventions and new school transitions for children on the autism spectrum.

• share
• favorite_border

UCLA researchers have found that it is possible to assess a person’s ability to feel empathy by studying their brain activity while they are resting rather than while they are engaged in specific tasks.

• share
• favorite_border

Ever wonder how mice talk to each other? We don’t have a dictionary quite yet, but UD neuroscientist Josh Neunuebel and his lab have linked the ultrasonic vocalizations made by mice with specific behaviors. It’s a significant advance of our understanding of communication science.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers found that repeats in the gene that causes Fragile X Syndrome normally regulate how and when proteins are made in neurons.

• share
• favorite_border

A novel research study by UC San Diego researchers will determine whether testing stored blood drops, recorded at birth, for 1,000 different molecules and chemicals can help predict autism risk years before symptoms would likely appear.

• share
• favorite_border

SDSC researchers used SDSC’s ‘Comet’ Supercomputer to analyze genome sequences in a recent study published in Nature Medicine by an international team of scientists led by researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine. The study describes a method to measure disease-causing mutations found only in the sperm of the father, providing a more accurate assessment of autism spectrum disease (ASD) risk in future children.

• share
• favorite_border

It is not uncommon for children and teens with autism spectrum disorder to struggle with sleep. Trouble falling asleep and staying asleep or refusing to go to bed are just some of the sleep problems they can experience. To help families, neurologists and other healthcare providers make decisions on the best treatments, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has issued a new guideline for sleep problems in children and teens with autism, published in the February 12, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.