Developmental Disability News and Research

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Study suggests movement as accurate method to diagnose neurodevelopmental disorders

A new study led by researchers at Indiana University and Rutgers University provides the strongest evidence yet that nearly imperceptible changes in how people move can be used to diagnose neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.

18 Jan 2018

Scientists identify eight new genes involved in epileptic encephalopathy

Approximately 30 per cent of patients with epilepsy do not respond to anti-epileptic drugs. In these cases, all neurologists can do is attempt to find the right combination of medication through trial and error.

6 Nov 2017

Researchers discover connection between processes that keep the heart from repairing itself

Heart muscle is one of the least renewable tissues in the body, which is one of the reasons that heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

5 Jun 2017

New online genetic study aims to enroll 50,000 individuals and families affected by autism

Autism has a strong genetic component. To date, approximately 50 genes have been identified that almost certainly play a role in autism, and researchers estimate that at least an additional 300 are involved.

17 Apr 2017

First physiological test opens door to early diagnosis of autism

An algorithm based on levels of metabolites found in a blood sample can accurately predict whether a child is on the Autism spectrum of disorder (ASD), based upon a recent study.

16 Mar 2017

Brain scans determine risk of autism before symptoms develop

Results of a new study published this week in Nature indicate that it is possible to identify children at risk of developing autism at 6‑12 months of age, allowing treatment to be started before symptoms manifest.

17 Feb 2017

Study reveals possibility to predict autism risk in infants within first year of life

A study published today in the journal Nature is the first to show that it is possible to predict within the first year of life, whether some infants will go on to develop autism.

15 Feb 2017

Scientists find altered blood-brain barrier and increased intestinal permeability in people with ASD

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has the dubious distinction of being the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

19 Jan 2017

Second annual conference at UofL focuses on improving access to quality health care for adults with IDD

Thanks to advances in medical science and a highly developed network of specialized pediatric health care services, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are much more likely to live into adulthood than they were several decades ago.

1 Nov 2016

Researchers receive $2.4 million grant to study effects of parenting on behavior of adolescents with FXS

University of Kansas researchers have been awarded a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study the effects of parenting on the development and behavior of adolescents with Fragile X syndrome, a single-gene disorder that is the most common cause of inherited developmental disability and the leading genetic cause of autism.

9 Jun 2016

Maternal immune dysfunction linked to risk of autism with intellectual disability in children

Pregnant women with higher levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, proteins that control communication between cells of the immune system, may be at significantly greater risk of having a child with autism combined with intellectual disability, researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute have found.

8 Jun 2016

Children conceived through infertility treatments no more likely to have developmental delays

Children conceived via infertility treatments are no more likely to have a developmental delay than children conceived without such treatments, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the New York State Department of Health and other institutions.

5 Jan 2016

Study provides biochemical links between genes linked to autism and the inhibition of nerve cells

A study led by the University of Utah School of Medicine provides new insights into how the subtle changes within cells, caused by disruptions in a gene called Kirrel3, could underlie some types of intellectual disability and autism.

18 Nov 2015

Divorce rates less among couples who raise children with developmental disabilities

Couples raising a child with developmental disabilities do not face a higher risk of divorce if they have larger families, according to a new study by researchers from the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

31 Oct 2015

Researchers awarded $6.4 million grant to identify causes of neurodevelopmental disorders in children with CHDs

As advances in medicine are giving rise to growing numbers of children who are surviving severe heart defects, a phenomenon is emerging that is catching parents and healthcare providers off-guard. Over half of these children also have a seemingly unrelated disability: neurodevelopmental disorders. Some have severe cognitive and motor deficits that arise early.

25 Aug 2015

Study identifies new culprit in Alzheimer's disease development

A recent study conducted at Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research and NYU Langone Medical Center implicates a new culprit in Alzheimer's disease development. The research reveals that ßCTF -- the precursor of the amyloid beta (Aß) peptide -- acts at the earliest stage of Alzheimer's to initiate a range of abnormalities leading to the loss of groups of neurons critical for memory formation.

22 Jul 2015

Autistic children who are sensitive to sensory stimuli have brains that react differently

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, a team of UCLA researchers has shown for the first time that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are overly sensitive to sensory stimuli have brains that react differently than those with the disorder who don't respond so severely to noises, visual stimulation and physical contact.

11 Jun 2015

New evidence links autism risk genes to better cognitive function

Genes linked with a greater risk of developing autism may also be associated with higher intelligence, a study suggests.

11 Mar 2015

Researchers explore how to turn on the activity of paternal gene

Most genes are inherited as two working copies, one from the mother and one from the father. However, in a few instances, a gene is imprinted, which means that one copy is silenced. This is called genomic imprinting. If the active copy is mutated, then disease results, even though the silenced gene copy may be normal.

2 Dec 2014

UMMS scientists awarded $9.5 million grant to study Fragile X syndrome

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $9.5 million grant to investigators at the University of Massachusetts Medical School to establish a Center for Collaborative Research in Fragile X, one of three centers designated by the NIH.

18 Nov 2014