Developmental Disorder News and Research

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Weekend reading: Mental illness stigma, health insurance mazes and female libido

Linneah sat at a desk at the Center for Sexual Medicine at Sheppard Pratt in the suburbs of Baltimore and filled out a questionnaire. She read briskly, making swift checks beside her selected answers, and when she was finished, she handed the pages across the desk to Martina Miller, who gave her a round of pills.

24 May 2013

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).

17 May 2013

RA, anti-TNF drugs and abortion rates: an interview with Dr. Evelyne Vinet and Dr. Sasha Bernatsky, McGill University

Prednisone and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used for symptom control, but to prevent joint damage, we use disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) including the cornerstone, methotrexate.

13 May 2013

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.

9 May 2013

Abnormal placental folds help identify autism risk in newborns

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.

25 Apr 2013

Autism spectrum disorder: Earlier diagnosis, better treatment

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.

10 Apr 2013

Academic medical centers launch ASD sub-registry within ResearchMatch

Each year, only five percent of the estimated 1.5 million children with an autism spectrum disorder in the US participate in clinical research studies. This is in stark contrast to pediatric cancer studies, which have a nearly 90 percent enrollment rate - a rate that has helped advance treatment and outcomes for childhood cancers substantially in the last decade.

27 Mar 2013

Study examines specific form of autism caused by duplication on chromosome 15

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.

27 Mar 2013

Autism spectrum disorders affect brain activity of children and adults differently

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.

14 Mar 2013

Children with ADHD more likely to have other psychiatric disorders as adults

The first large, population-based study to follow children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) into adulthood shows that ADHD often doesn't "go away," and that children with ADHD are more likely to have other psychiatric disorders as adults. Although numbers were small, they also appear more likely to commit suicide and are often incarcerated as adults.

4 Mar 2013

Periconceptional folic acid intake may reduce risk of autistic disorder in children

In a study that included approximately 85,000 Norwegian children, maternal use of supplemental folic acid from 4 weeks before to 8 weeks after the start of pregnancy was associated with a lower risk of autistic disorder in children, according to a study appearing in the February 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Feb 2013

New insight into 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Research out of the George Washington University (GW), published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals another piece of the puzzle in a genetic developmental disorder that causes behavioral diseases such as autism.

4 Jan 2013

Immune dysfunction pinpointed in developmental disorder

Children with neurodevelopmental abnormalities resulting from duplication of the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 gene also have impaired T-helper-cell 1 responses, research shows.

10 Dec 2012

New genetic study defines biology behind brain developmental disorder in children

This study describes how a combination of sequencing and mouse models were used to identify the gene responsible for a brain developmental disorder seen in four patients.

1 Dec 2012

UBE3B gene linked to brain development disorder in children

Researchers have defined the gene responsible for a rare developmental disorder in children. The team showed that rare variation in a gene involved in brain development causes the disorder. This is the first time that this gene, UBE3B, has been linked to a disease.

30 Nov 2012

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome anxiety linked to poorer adaptive behaviors

UC Davis researchers have found that for children with the genetic disorder known as chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome anxiety -- but not intelligence -- is linked to poorer adaptive behaviors, such as self-care and communication skills, that affect daily life. The developmental syndrome, which is associated with a constellation of physical, cognitive and psychiatric problems, usually is apparent at birth or early childhood, and leads to lifelong challenges.

6 Nov 2012

ESDM improves social skills and brain responses to social cues

The Early Start Denver Model, a comprehensive behavioral early intervention program that is appropriate for children with autism spectrum disorder as young as 12 months, has been found to be effective in improving social skills and brain responses to social cues in a randomized controlled study published online today in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

29 Oct 2012

Link between autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a category that includes autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, are characterized by difficulty with social interaction and communication, or repetitive behaviors. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Management says that one in 88 children in the US is somewhere on the Autism spectrum - an alarming ten-fold increase in the last four decades.

24 Oct 2012

Study examines newly proposed DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder

Parents should not worry that proposed changes to the medical criteria redefining a diagnosis of autism will leave their children excluded and deemed ineligible for psychiatric and medical care, says a team of researchers led by psychologists at Weill Cornell Medical College.

3 Oct 2012

Scientists successfully reverse neuronal changes in autism

People with autism suffer from a pervasive developmental disorder of the brain that becomes evident in early childhood. Peter Scheiffele and Kaspar Vogt, Professors at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, have identified a specific dysfunction in neuronal circuits that is caused by autism.

14 Sep 2012