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Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 12:32:53 PM |
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Autism linked to paternal age
Children of men age 40 and older have a significantly increased risk of having autism spectrum disorders compared with those whose fathers are younger than 30 years, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Sep 5, 2006 - 6:36:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Autism
Autism affects functioning of entire brain
A recent study provides evidence that autism affects the functioning of virtually the entire brain, and is not limited to the brain areas involved with social interactions, communication behaviors, and reasoning abilities, as had been previously thought. The study, conducted by scientists in a research network supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), found that autism also affects a broad array of skills and abilities, including those involved with sensory perception, movement, and memory.
Aug 17, 2006 - 3:52:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
New study reveals Rett syndrome can strike males
Report co-author Dr Helen Leonard, who heads the Australian Rett Syndrome Study at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, says the finding means that testing for the genetic disorder should be considered in some baby boys who develop progressive serious neurological problems.
Aug 9, 2006 - 3:19:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Autism - the neuroanatomical basis
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute have discovered that the brains of males with autism have fewer neurons in the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in emotion and memory. The study, published in the July 19 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, is the first neuroanatomical study to quantify a key difference in the autistic amygdala.
Jul 20, 2006 - 1:18:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Trophoblast inclusions in placenta may be the earliest marker for autism
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have discovered in the placenta what may be the earliest marker for autism, possibly helping physicians diagnose the condition at birth, rather than the standard age of two or older. The findings are reported in the June 26 online issue of Biological Psychiatry. Autism is a developmental disorder that has a profound effect on socialization, communication, learning and other behaviors. In most cases, onset is early in infancy. Information on the earliest development aspects of autism in children has been limited even though approximately one in every 200 children is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The earlier the diagnosis is made, the greater the treatment impact. Current studies are searching for characteristics in children at risk for ASD so that the diagnosis can be made prior to age one. The ideal time for diagnosis would be at birth, according to senior author on the study Harvey J. Kliman, M.D., research scientist in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at the Yale School of Medicine.
Jun 27, 2006 - 3:16:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
Rett Syndrome to Mitochondrial Uqcrc1 Gene
New research from the lab of Adrian Bird, a molecular geneticist at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, reveals that abnormally high levels of a protein called Uqcrc1 in the brains of mouse models of Rett Syndrome cause mitochondria---the cells� powerhouses--to work overtime. �This is the first time a mitochondrial gene has been linked to Rett Syndrome,� says Dr. Bird. Co-author Skirmantas Kriaucionis, now at Rockefeller University in New York City, hopes the finding will lead to treatments for the disorder. �Knowledge of specific physiological defects will, in the future, provide targets for therapeutic intervention,� he adds. This research, which was funded in part by the Rett Syndrome Research Foundation, appears in the July issue of the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Jun 24, 2006 - 2:47:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
Psychiatric services for adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome and other autistic-spectrum disorders
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has published a new report entitled Psychiatric services for adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome and other autistic-spectrum disorders
May 16, 2006 - 1:36:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Pediatricians fail to screen for autism
Few Maryland and Delaware primary care pediatricians screen patients regularly for autism and autism-spectrum disorders (ASD) as part of their overall look at possible developmental delays, according to results of a joint study from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
May 10, 2006 - 12:59:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Why some people lack social skills
Poor social skills in some people may be due to their inability to process faces, says a new study. Known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it is characterised by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills, social interaction and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour.
Apr 10, 2006 - 2:06:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
The role of evolutionary genomics in the development of autism
Scientists at the London School of Economics, UK and Simon Fraser University, Canada have described the first hypothesis grounded in evolutionary genomics explaining the development of autism.
Mar 22, 2006 - 1:48:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
State-of-the-art eye tracking system to help understand autistic children
Using new technology and a unique approach, Binghamton University researchers are hoping to help children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) deal with their most common and problematic areas of deficit - social and life skills
Mar 21, 2006 - 2:20:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Innovative approach affords clearer view of autism
Using new technology and a unique approach, Binghamton University researchers are hoping to help children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) deal with their most common and problematic areas of deficit - social and life skills.
Mar 21, 2006 - 2:16:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Autism Phenome Project aims to redefine autism by identifying distinct subtypes
Multidisciplinary teams of physicians and scientists at the University of California, Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute have launched the nation's most comprehensive assessment of children with autism to detect the biological and behavioral patterns that define subtypes of the disorder.
Mar 10, 2006 - 9:30:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
Nicotinamide: A Way to Prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
The most common cause of nongenetic mental retardation in the Western world is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). About one in 1,000 United States children is born with FAS, which is caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. Children with FAS typically have abnormal facial features and reduced growth. They also have central nervous system abnormalities that lead to impaired learning and memory skills, hyperactivity, and other behavioral problems. These neurological disabilities arise because ethanol disrupts the formation and survival of neurons in the developing brain, particularly in the last trimester of pregnancy and in the first few years of postnatal life when brain development is particularly active.
Feb 24, 2006 - 8:42:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Brain Enlargement May Be Characteristic Of Autism
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has found evidence of brain enlargement in a relatively large sample of children with autism, compared with children who do not have the disorder, according to a study in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder defined by social deficits, abnormalities in communication, and stereotyped, repetitive behaviors. While the neuroanatomical basis of this condition is not yet known, numerous lines of evidence suggest that abnormalities in brain volume may be characteristic of autism, according to background information in the article.
Dec 8, 2005 - 3:20:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Findings pinpoint mechanism behind social deficits in autism
New imaging research at UCLA detailed Dec. 4 as an advance online publication of the journal Nature Neuroscience shows children with autism have virtually no activity in a key part of the brain's mirror neuron system while imitating and observing emotions.
Dec 5, 2005 - 4:20:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Methylphenidate Shows Promise In The Treatment Of Hyperactivity Associated With Autism-Spectrum Disorders
Medication commonly used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be effective for treatment of hyperactivity symptoms in children with autism and related pervasive developmental disorders, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Nov 8, 2005 - 5:37:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
DCDC2 identified as risk gene in dyslexia
About five million Germans have serious learning difficulties when it comes to reading and writing. It is frequently the case that several members of the same family are affected. So hereditary disposition seems to play an important role in the occurrence of dyslexia. Scientists at the universities of Marburg, W�rzburg and Bonn have been working on this question together with Swedish colleagues from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. In examinations of German children with serious reading and writing difficulties they have now succeeded in demonstrating for the first time the contribution of a specific gene. Precisely how it contributes to the disorder remains unclear. It is thought that the genes may affect the migration of nerve cells in the brain as it evolves.
Nov 4, 2005 - 7:06:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
TEDS - Main autism behaviour types are not genetically linked
Scientists at the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, have discovered that two sets of behaviours that co-occur in autism spectrum conditions appear to be caused by different sets of genes.
Sep 6, 2005 - 1:38:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Telephone assessments with A-TAC can identify childhood autistic disorders
A telephone interview with parents devised by psychiatrists can be used successfully for assessing autistic spectrum disorders in their children.
Sep 2, 2005 - 2:28:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Protein Snapin as a potential drug target in Autism
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.
Aug 25, 2005 - 6:40:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Two chromosomes linked to susceptibility for type of autism
A new Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study links regions of two chromosomes to susceptibility for a type of autism characterized by regression in development. Developmental regression can include the loss of previously acquired language, social skills or both.
Jun 8, 2005 - 1:43:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Autism Gene Pinpointed on Chromosome 17
Autism is a complex disease caused by the interaction of multiple genes and environmental influences. As a result, scientists' previous attempts to locate a genetic risk factor have proved inconclusive. No researchers have been able to pinpoint a predisposing gene and then duplicate their efforts � a key piece of proof required for scientific validity.
May 6, 2005 - 4:09:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Specific Behaviors In Infants Can Predict Autism
Canadian researchers have become the first to pinpoint specific behavioral signs in infants as young as 12 months that can predict, with remarkable accuracy, whether a child will develop autism.
May 6, 2005 - 4:07:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Autism Conference Reports Advances in Early Diagnosis
Some 700 scientists from around the world who gathered in Boston this week shared exciting advances in understanding the causes of and treatments for autism disorders, which affect up to one of every 166 people. Autism is a brain disorder that can severely impair a child's communication and social skills, leaving them in apparent isolation from their families and communities.
May 6, 2005 - 3:54:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Children with Autism have Different Immune System Responses
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, M.I.N.D. Institute and the NIEHS Center for Children's Environmental Health demonstrate that children with autism have different immune system responses than children who do not have the disorder. This is important evidence that autism, currently defined primarily by distinct behaviors, may potentially be defined by distinct biologic changes as well.
May 6, 2005 - 3:54:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
Failed Attention to Faces May Lead to Autism Later
A leading scientist trying to understand and treat autism suspects that a failure to engage in such normal social activities as looking at a parent's face or listening to speech sounds early in life may help explain the profound impairments in social and language development shown by most children with the disorder.
May 6, 2005 - 3:54:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
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Autism
PTEN gene of Cowden Syndrome found in Autism
A gene that is changed in many forms of cancer has also been found to show similar changes in some forms of autism, according to preliminary research.
Apr 8, 2005 - 1:36:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
Managing imminent violence in learning disability settings
The evidence base for the management of imminent violence in disability settings (OP57) is the title of a new occasional Paper from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Apr 6, 2005 - 6:32:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Learning-Disabilities
BioMAP can quickly identify children with learning disabilities
Learning disabilities such as dyslexia are believed to affect nearly one in 10 children. To better study them, a Northwestern University research team has developed a data-driven conceptual framework that links two well-established scientific concepts.
Apr 5, 2005 - 5:20:00 PM
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