http://medicalxpress.com/autism-spectrum-news/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest research news on autism spectrum disorders, Asperger syndrome, Childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett syndrome Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, and this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-motion-perception-autism-underlying-disorder.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 08 May 2013 13:23:11 EST news287238180 (HealthDay)—Using a kid-friendly robot during behavioral therapy sessions may help some children with autism gain better social skills, a preliminary study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-kelly-robot-kids-tackle-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 02 May 2013 05:15:20 EST news286690512 (HealthDay)—A new study failed to find any evidence to back up a suggested association between Lyme disease and autism spectrum disorders. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-evidence-lyme-disease-children-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:00:01 EST news286548097 (Medical Xpress)—Most infants respond to a game of peek-a-boo with smiles at the very least, and, for those who find the activity particularly entertaining, gales of laughter. For infants with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), however, the game can be distressing rather than pleasant, and they'll do their best to tune out all aspects of it—and that includes the people playing with them. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-successfully-autism-infants.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:11:49 EST news286524696 Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have figured out how to measure an infant's risk of developing autism by looking for abnormalities in his/her placenta at birth, allowing for earlier diagnosis and treatment for the developmental disorder. The findings are reported in the April 25 online issue of Biological Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-autism-birth-abnormal-placentas.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:10:01 EST news286045239 A first-ever vaccine created by University of Guelph researchers for gut bacteria common in autistic children may also help control some autism symptoms. The groundbreaking study by Brittany Pequegnat and Guelph chemistry professor Mario Monteiro appears this month in the journal Vaccine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-scientists-vaccine-autism-symptoms.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:44:29 EST news286019061 Maternal use of valproate (a drug used for the treatment of epilepsy and other neuropsychological disorders) during pregnancy was associated with a significantly increased risk of autism in offspring, according to a study in the April 24 issue of JAMA. The authors caution that these findings must be balanced against the treatment benefits for women who require valproate for epilepsy control. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-anti-epileptic-drug-pregnancy-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:51:05 EST news285954651 One of the defining characteristics of autism is difficulty communicating with others. However, it is unclear whether those struggles arise only from the poor social skills commonly associated with autism, or whether autistic children suffer from more specific linguistic impairments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-reveals-linguistic-deficits-autistic-children.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:34:51 EST news285928484 Scientists from King's College London have identified patterns of epigenetic changes involved in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by studying genetically identical twins who differ in autism traits. The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, is the largest of its kind and may shed light on the biological mechanism by which environmental influences regulate the activity of certain genes and in turn contribute to the development of ASD and related behaviour traits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-epigenetic-biological-mechanism-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:00:01 EST news285877545 Neuroscientists from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the University of Toronto have developed an efficient and reliable method of analyzing brain activity to detect autism in children. Their findings appear today in the online journal PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-autism-brain.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:00:04 EST news285436064 For the first time, researchers have linked autism in a mouse model of the disease with abnormalities in specific regions of the animals' chromosomes. The regions contain genes associated with aberrant brain development and activity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-autism-mice-linked-genetics.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:00:02 EST news285245278 People with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have trouble communicating and interacting with others because they process language, facial expressions and social cues differently. Previously, researchers found that propranolol, a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure, anxiety and panic, could improve the language abilities and social functioning of people with an ASD. Now, University of Missouri investigators say the prescription drug also could help improve the working memory abilities of individuals with autism. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-drug-memory-people-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:26:16 EST news285261970 Mutations found in individuals with autism block the action of molecules made by the brain that act on the same receptors that marijuana's active chemical acts on, according to new research reported online April 11 in the Cell Press journal Neuron. The findings implicate specific molecules, called endocannabinoids, in the development of some autism cases and point to potential treatment strategies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-mutations-individuals-autism-endocannabinoid-brain.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:00:19 EST news284898623 The age at which a child with autism is diagnosed is related to the particular suite of behavioral symptoms he or she exhibits, new research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-autism-age-diagnosis-specific-symptoms.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:48:50 EST news284744924 (Medical Xpress)—Children with autism have increased levels of genetic change in regions of the genome prone to DNA rearrangements, so called "hotspots," according to a research discovery to be published in the print edition of the journal Human Molecular Genetics. The research indicates that these genetic changes come in the form of an excess of duplicated DNA segments in hotspot regions and may affect the chances that a child will develop autism—a behavioral disorder that affects about 1 of every 88 children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-autism-linked-genetic-regions-genome.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:59:49 EST news284201977 Identifying and understanding the combination of factors that leads to autism is an ongoing scientific challenge. This developmental disorder appears in the first three years of life, and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills. Results from a study led by Larry T. Reiter, PhD, at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) are providing significant insights into the disorder through the study of a specific form of autism caused by a duplication on chromosome 15. This month his work appears in Autism Research, the official journal of the International Society for Autism Research. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-yields-significant-insights-common-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 26 Mar 2013 08:36:03 EST news283505667 Women who experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse as children are more likely to have a child with autism than women who were not abused, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Those who experienced the most serious abuse had the highest likelihood of having a child with autism—three-and-a-half times more than women who were not abused. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-women-abused-children-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:25:31 EST news283015524 Men who have children at older ages are more likely to have grandchildren with autism compared to younger grandfathers, according to new research. This is the first time that research has shown that risk factors for autism may accumulate over generations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-older-grandfathers-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:24:56 EST news283015476 "Aiden, look!" piped NAO, a two-foot tall humanoid robot, as it pointed to a flat-panel display on a far wall. As the cartoon dog Scooby Doo flashed on the screen, Aiden, a young boy with an unruly thatch of straw-colored hair, looked in the direction the robot was pointing. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-humanoid-robot-children-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:02:51 EST news283014163 Infants at 7 months of age who go on to develop autism are slower to reorient their gaze and attention from one object to another when compared to 7-month-olds who do not develop autism, and this behavioral pattern is in part explained by atypical brain circuits. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-atypical-brain-circuits-slower-shifting.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:01 EST news282938650 Autism results from abnormal cell communication. Testing a new theory, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used a newly discovered function of an old drug to restore cell communications in a mouse model of autism, reversing symptoms of the devastating disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-drug-treatment-autism-symptoms-mouse.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 13 Mar 2013 17:00:09 EST news282410884 Newly released findings from Bradley Hospital published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry have found that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) affect the brain activity of children and adults differently. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-team-age-related-autism-affects-brain.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:47:52 EST news282397666 (Medical Xpress)—Children with an autism spectrum disorder may be at greater risk for contemplating suicide or attempting suicide than children without autism, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-autistic-children-greater-suicide-ideation.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:27:04 EST news282299218 A look at how the brain processes information finds a distinct pattern in children with autism spectrum disorders. Using EEGs to track the brain's electrical cross-talk, researchers from Boston Children's Hospital have found a structural difference in brain connections. Compared with neurotypical children, those with autism have multiple redundant connections between neighboring brain areas at the expense of long-distance links. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-network-analysis-brain-features-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:50:03 EST news281183838 Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-ultrasound-reveals-autism-birth.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 25 Feb 2013 11:03:09 EST news281012582 Learning, memory and habits are encoded in the strength of connections between neurons in the brain, the synapses. These connections aren't meant to be fixed, they're changeable, or plastic. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-good-habits-bad-neuroscientist-roots.html Autism spectrum disorders Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:03:52 EST news280242206 Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for before-and-after analysis, a team of researchers including a UC Santa Barbara graduate student discovered positive changes in brain activity in children with autism who received a particular type of behavioral therapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-behavioral-therapy-children-autism-impact.html Autism spectrum disorders Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:30:01 EST news280070286 Researchers at Yale School of Medicine are able to detect deficits in social attention in infants as young as six months of age who later develop Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Published in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry, the results showed that these infants paid less attention to people and their activities than typically developing babies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-attention-deficits-babies-autism.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:47:12 EST news279280012 Healthy eating not only promotes growth and development, but also provides important opportunities for children to socialize during meals. A new, comprehensive analysis of feeding behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) indicates that these children are five times more likely to have a feeding problem, including extreme tantrums during meals, severe food selectivity and ritualistic mealtime behaviors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-children-autism-significant-problems-nutritional.html Autism spectrum disorders Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:15:38 EST news279216931 (Medical Xpress)—Results of a recent clinical study by researchers from Western and the University of Arkansas reveal the presence of a unique blood marker, which may further the understanding of possible gut linked environmental contributors to autism. The findings may also forecast potential blood tests for early screening to identify and potentially treat the condition, even before symptoms present. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-team-potential-blood-autistic-patients.html Autism spectrum disorders Tue, 29 Jan 2013 06:37:00 EST news278663797