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Autism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.
RUCDR Infinite Biologics creates new Genomics Technology Center

RUCDR Infinite Biologics creates new Genomics Technology Center

RUCDR Infinite Biologics, the world's largest university-based biorepository, has completed an $11.8 million renovation project to create a new Genomics Technology Center, comprising 12,500 square feet of laboratory, office, and storage space on the Busch Campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. [More]

Updated diagnostic guidebook for mental disorders to be unveiled this weekend

In advance of its release, the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has triggered debate and controversy surrounding the many changes included in this 947-page book. [More]
First Edition: May 17, 2013

First Edition: May 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the GOP vote to repeal the health law -- for the 37th time -- as well as how the current IRS scandal is being connected to the health law's implementation. [More]
Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

Viewpoints: When a doctor should keep quiet; 2 views of hospital pricing; Stem cell 'snake oil'

In medical school, we were taught not to withhold information from our patients or to be "paternal" in making decisions for them. We internalized the idea that fully informed patients are better equipped to make treatment decisions. [More]

Roundup: N.D. abortion clinic sues to stop new law; Health care savings close budget hole in Conn.; Calif. counties struggle to expand mental health care

The running battle over the regulation of abortions entered a North Dakota courtroom on Wednesday, as the state's sole abortion clinic sued to block a new law that it says could force it to shut down. The law, requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, was promoted by anti-abortion legislators, who argued that it would mean better care for women who suffer medical emergencies (Eckholm, 5/15). [More]
Roundup: Ore. Health Co-Ops to compete with big insurers; Texas lawmakers find money for mental health, women's care

Roundup: Ore. Health Co-Ops to compete with big insurers; Texas lawmakers find money for mental health, women's care

Armed with hefty federal loans, two startup health insurers are jumping into a crowded and confusing Oregon market just as the biggest changes to U.S. health care in generations roll out this fall. [More]

Prenatal exposure to influenza increases risk of bipolar disorder in offspring

Pregnant mothers' exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. [More]

First Edition: May 14, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about an Obama administration plan to delay Medicaid DSH payment reductions. [More]
New research shows that spontaneous mutations contribute to congenital heart disease

New research shows that spontaneous mutations contribute to congenital heart disease

Every year, thousands of babies are born with severely malformed hearts, disorders known collectively as congenital heart disease. Many of these defects can be repaired though surgery, but researchers don't understand what causes them or how to prevent them. New research shows that about 10 percent of these defects are caused by genetic mutations that are absent in the parents of affected children. [More]
Researchers identify clue to explain the reversible memory loss caused by statins

Researchers identify clue to explain the reversible memory loss caused by statins

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and physicians continue to document that some patients experience fuzzy thinking and memory loss while taking statins, a class of global top-selling cholesterol-lowering drugs. [More]
Study: Hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to fundamental cause of autism

Study: Hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to fundamental cause of autism

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. [More]

BIDMC researcher receives IMFAR's 2013 Slivka/Ritvo Innovation in Autism Research Award

Dennis P. Wall, PhD, an investigator in the Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Director of the Computational Biology Initiative at the Center for Biomedical Infomatics at Harvard Medical School, was recently honored at the International Meeting for Autism Research. [More]

UA researchers discover genetic mutations that cause severe epilepsies in children

Researchers at the University of Arizona have successfully determined the genetic mutations causing severe epilepsies in seven out of 10 children for whom the cause of the disorder could not be determined clinically or by conventional genetic testing. [More]
Discovery may lead to new treatment for neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative disorders

Discovery may lead to new treatment for neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative disorders

A key type of human brain cell developed in the laboratory grows seamlessly when transplanted into the brains of mice, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered, raising hope that these cells might one day be used to treat people with Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, and possibly even Alzheimer's disease, as well as and complications of spinal cord injury such as chronic pain and spasticity. [More]

ASK NAO Initiative to revolutionize special education for autistic children

ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS, the creator of the NAO humanoid robot, has launched the ASK NAO Initiative, where ASK stands for Autism Solution for Kids. With the help of NAO, the company aims to help improve special-education teaching by stimulating social interaction through play and allowing users greater autonomy. [More]

Autism BrainNet to acquire, process, store and distribute brain tissue to accelerate autism research

Autism Speaks and the Simons Foundation announced the establishment and funding of a new network of sites to collect brain tissue to advance autism research through brain donation at today's International Meeting for Autism Research. [More]

CHOP research offers insights into epilepsy, schizophrenia, other neuropsych disorders

Medical researchers have manipulated human stem cells into producing types of brain cells known to play important roles in neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and autism. [More]
Study finds link between bigger birth weight babies and risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Study finds link between bigger birth weight babies and risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

The biggest study of fetal growth and autism to date has reported that babies whose growth is at either extreme in the womb, either very big or very small, are at greater risk of developing autism. [More]
Measles outbreak prompts national vaccination catch-up program in UK

Measles outbreak prompts national vaccination catch-up program in UK

Health officials in the UK have announced a national catch-up program to target 10–16 year olds who did not receive the combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination in early childhood due to fears about links with autism. [More]

Autism linked to epilepsy drug use in pregnancy

Children born to mothers who take valproate during pregnancy are at increased risk for developing autism compared with children of women who did not take the epilepsy drug, Danish research shows. [More]