Causes

Autism may be linked to difficult births – study

By on May 17, 2005

Reuters reports "A difficult birth or a history of mental illness in a parent may put a baby at greater risk for autism, according to a study that may provide clues to the causes of the devastating neurological disability."

Research Offers Hope for Autism Blood Test

By on May 11, 2005

In this article from WebMD Medical News, Autism researchers state they are closer then ever to developing a blood test for Autism. In addition to delivering conclusive results to adults and child who wonder if they are autistic, the blood tests could be use to discover autism in newborns leading to earlier intervention.

Monkey “Pay-Per-View” Study Could Aid Understanding Of Autism

By on January 29, 2005

Researches have found that monkeys will "pay" juice rewards to see images of high-ranking monkeys or female hindquarters. They say their research technique offers a rigorous laboratory approach to studying the "social machinery" of the brain and how this machinery goes tragically awry in autism -- a disorder that afflicts more than a million Americans and is the fastest growing developmental disorder.

The mystery of autism

By on January 2, 2005

US News and World Report has an article about the mystery of Autism:

eurologists and parents desperately want to unlock the mystery of autism, a brain disorder that strikes as many as 5 of every 1,000 children and causes difficulty in communication, socialization, and learning. Numerous theories have been offered to explain the baffling disease, including genetic causes, environmental factors, and an attack on the brain by an immune system...

Why Do Some Develop Then Regress?

By on December 12, 2004

Science Daily Reports:

Most children with autism show developmental differences early in life, usually involving their ability to communicate. But new University of Michigan research examines the 20 to 40 percent of youngsters who appear to develop communication skills, then regress.

Asperger’s not linked to violence, experts say

By on October 30, 2004

The The Times (London) reports:

Bullied at school for his stilted speech and learning difficulties, Paul Smith was always seen as the "odd kid".

Like many sufferers of Asperger’s syndrome, the 18-year-old lacked social skills and hated crowded situations such as the fateful party last December.

Hunt for Autism Genes to Be Led by Johns Hopkins Researchers

By on October 18, 2004

Johns Hopkins University reports:

With a three-year $3.2 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins scientists will lead the largest hunt for genetic contributors to autism, a neuropsychiatric condition whose causes are almost as mysterious today as when the condition was first described in 1943.

The researchers will apply new genome-searching technologies to available samples and information from 465...

MMR report ‘not denial of autism link’

By on October 13, 2004

The Guardian reports:

Serious questions were raised last night over the scientific evidence used by the government to reject claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and regressive autism in children.

A US paediatrician, Dr F Edward Yazbak, told The Observer that a study of more than 500,000 Danish children, regarded as the definitive analysis of the vaccine, should not be interpreted as ruling out a link between the jab and an increase in...

Autism from a mixture of sources?

By on September 14, 2004

Autism, may arise from a mixture of sources that include a few genes and alterations in the factors that regulate genes (epigenetics) that may be inherited or occur as a new event, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine.
“This new model represents a new kind of complexity in understanding this puzzling disease,” said Dr. Arthur Beaudet, senior author on the paper and chair of the BCM department of molecular and human genetics....

Study of music increases IQ

By on August 24, 2004

The idea that studying music improves the intellect is not a new one, but at last there is incontrovertible evidence from a study conducted out of the University of Toronto. The study, led by Dr. E. Glenn Schellenberg, examined the effect of extra-curricular activities on the intellectual and social development of six-year-old children. A group of 144 children were recruited through an ad in a local newspaper and assigned randomly to one of...