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UrduResearchers 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.
Tag: Autism
Scientists uncover new genetic mutations linked to autism spectrum disorder
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.
Genetic rescue of SHANK3 is potential therapy in rare forms of autism spectrum disorder
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.
Finding community in digital spaces
The coronavirus has driven us indoors and separated us from coworkers, friends and loved ones. That’s nothing really new for Sara Loftus, a West Virginia University geography doctoral student who is studying how to build an online community.
Mindfulness Improves Decision-Making, Attention in Children with Autism
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.
Autism severity can change substantially during early childhood
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.
Exposure to ‘good bacteria’ during pregnancy buffers risk of autism-like syndrome in offspring
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.
New CDC Guidelines for K-12 Schools Spark Concern in Autism Community – Saint Joseph’s Expert Available to Discuss
This week, the CDC released initial considerations for ways in which K-12 schools can help protect students, teachers, administrators and staff and slow the spread of COVID-19. Joseph McCleery, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology and executive director for academic programs in the Kinney…
Overcoming challenges of individuals with autism spectrum disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic
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.
Center offers COVID-19 training and resources for individuals with autism spectrum disorder
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.
Depression symptoms linked to reduced cognitive control in people with autism
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.
Absence makes the brain grow fonder, study shows
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.
3D Tissue Models Provide Unprecedented Insight into Human Brain Function and Disease
Researchers have created 3D tissue structures that recapitulate many aspects of specific human brain regions.
2020 Benjamin J. Geigerman Lecture Series reaches out to people on the autism spectrum
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.
Brain discovery suggests source of lifelong behavioral issues
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.
Don’t forget our kids. OT researchers urge extra support for home schooling vulnerable children
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.
Celebrate Autism Awareness Month with Exercise Tips from the American College of Sports Medicine
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
Self-regulation for kids: at home, at school and with autism
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.
U.S. Autism Rates Up 10 Percent in New CDC Report
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).
Five language outcome measures evaluated for intellectual disabilities studies
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.
CHOP Researchers Develop Method for Measuring Quality of Life Across Lifespan for Individuals on Autism Spectrum
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.
Autism rates declining among wealthy whites, while escalating among poor, minorities
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.
Reduced Response to Odors May Be Common in People with Autism
Article title: Decreased amplitude and reliability of odor-evoked responses in two mouse models of autism Authors: Matthew A. Geramita, Jing A. Wen, Matthew D. Rannals, and Nathaniel N. Urban From the authors: “Here we show that two mouse models of autism,…
ANTIDEPRESSANT HARMS BABY NEURONS IN LAB-GROWN “MINI-BRAINS”
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.
Three of the Top 10 Autism Studies of 2019 come from UC Davis MIND Institute
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.
Study finds empathy can be detected in people whose brains are at rest
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.
BREAKING THE COMMUNICATION CODE
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.
Predicting Autism Risk May Begin With a Drop of Blood
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.
Gene associated with autism also controls growth of the embryonic brain
A UCLA-led study reveals a new role for a gene that’s associated with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and language impairment.
UNH Researchers Find Synchronization of Memory Cells Critical For Learning and Forming Memories
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire found that the neurons involved in Pavlovian learning shift their behavior and become more synchronized when a memory is being formed – a finding that helps better understand memory mechanisms and provides clues for the development of future therapies for memory-related diseases like dementia, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Study Challenges Assumptions About Social Interaction Difficulties in Autism
Results suggest social interaction success for autistic adults revolves around partner compatibility, not just participant skill set. “If autistic people were inherently poor, you’d expect two autistic people to struggle more than an autistic and non-autistic person. That’s not what we found.”
Autism Diagnosis Test Needs Improvement, Rutgers Researchers Say
Rutgers researchers have found that a test widely used to diagnose whether children have autism is less reliable than previously assumed.
Helping the world understand, detect and treat a devasting genetic disorder
Fragile X syndrome is a debilitating genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that affects people worldwide, but many doctors don’t know anything about it, let alone have the resources to properly diagnose or treat it.
Healing and Hope: Treating Fragile X in Serbia
Doctors and scientists — experts in the rare and severely disabling fragile X syndrome — had arrived from the United States, including six from the UC Davis MIND Institute. They came to offer the families useful information and maybe open doors to desperately needed help in a region of the world that, until fairly recently, hardly recognized fragile X syndrome, let alone knew how to diagnose or treat it.
Largest Autism Sequencing Study to Date Identifies 102 Genes Associated With the Condition
In the largest genetic sequencing study of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to date, researchers have identified 102 genes associated with risk for autism. The study also shows significant progress towards teasing apart the genes associated with ASD from those associated with intellectual disability and developmental delay, conditions which often overlap.
Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Autism and Transportation Issues
New Brunswick, N.J. (Jan. 22, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick expert Cecilia Feeley is available for interviews on transportation and mobility issues for people on the autism spectrum. Feeley, transportation autism project manager at the Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and…
Enlarged amygdala involved in psychiatric challenges in young girls with autism
behavioral problems than similar age boys with ASD. These challenges are associated with a larger amygdala, a UC Davis Health study has found. The amygdala is a key part of the brain that helps regulate emotions and detects threats.
A Calming Space
Children’s of Alabama pathway designed for patients with sensory sensitivities has been equally impactful on families, providers
One-Fourth of Children with Autism Are Undiagnosed
One-fourth of children under age 8 with autism spectrum disorder — most of them black or Hispanic — are not being diagnosed, which is critical for improving quality of life.
Families of Children With Autism Face Physical, Mental and Social Burdens
Families of children with autism face high physical, mental and emotional burdens, are sometimes ridiculed and even accused of child abuse, according to a Rutgers study.
Rutgers Neurologist Named Scientific Advisor of Eagles Autism Challenge
Rutgers Neurologist Named Scientific Advisor of Eagles Autism Challenge
New Beaumont research puts scientists one step closer to newborn screening for autism
This preliminary, collaborative study used Artificial Intelligence, a computer-based technology which scans a map of the human genome.
Measuring Mutations in Sperm May Reveal Risk for Autism in Future Children
Spontaneous mutations in male sperm are linked to development of autism spectrum disorder. Researchers have created a way to measure mutations and estimate risk of ASD in future children. If developed into a clinical test, the method could be a useful predictive tool in genetic counseling.
In Some Children with Autism, “Social” and “Visual” Neural Circuits Don’t Quite Connect
Researchers combined eye gaze research with brain scans to discover that in a common subtype of autism, in which ASD toddlers prefer images of geometric shapes over those of children playing, brain areas responsible for vision and attention are not controlled by social brain networks, and so social stimuli are ignored.
Zimmerli Art Museum Offers New Tools for Visitors with Sensory-Related Disorders
The Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University-New Brunswick is the first art museum in New Jersey to offer specialized tools to help visitors in the autism spectrum enjoy their visit without stressful sensory overload.
Rutgers Neurologist Named Lead Scientific Advisor of Eagles Autism Challenge Peer Review Panel
Philadelphia Eagles Chair and CEO Jeffrey Lurie championed a new signature fundraising event, the Eagles Autism Challenge, to raise funds for innovative autism research and programs. To assist him in these efforts, Lurie appointed a professor of neuroscience and cell biology and pediatrics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to serve as the lead scientific advisor.
UM MEDICINE LAUNCHES TREATMENT CENTERS FOR ADULT NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Launch of centers to treat adults with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism. These are the first in the state of Maryland and a pioneering approach for treatment across the United States.
Helping children birth to 5 with social/emotional, developmental disorders
More than 50 mental health clinicians and 14 Head Start teachers are increasing their ability to help young children experiencing social and emotional difficulties, thanks to training provided through the South Dakota Early Childhood Mental Health Collaborative.
Holidays on the Spectrum
A short feature with a list of tips to help people with autism, and their loved ones, better navigate the holidays.
Families of youth with autism face big barriers to care, gaps in services
New research at Case Western Reserve University found big gaps in services and continued care for children with autism—and their families—as they transition from adolescence to adulthood.