Latest Pervasive developmental disorders Stories
Given that almost 70% of young adults with Asperger syndrome have suffered from depression, it is vital that psychiatric care staff are aware of this so that patients are given the right treatment, reveals research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Tove Lugnegård, researcher at the University of Gothenburg, has shown in her thesis that mood disorders and anxiety disorders are very common among young adults with Asperger syndrome. Around 70% of the young...
Three Young Designers Win by Highlighting Awareness of Employment for People with Autism CHICAGO, Feb. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the second annual Easter Seals Sketch-A-Space competition wraps up, Easter Seals and Google SketchUp are excited to announce the winners of this year's contest. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110401/MM76153LOGO) The Sketch-A-Space competition offered an opportunity for people with autism, as well as those interested in autism, to...
NIH research network identifies differences in brain structure as early as 6 months Patterns of brain development in the first two years of life are distinct in children who are later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), according to researchers in a network funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study results show differences in brain structure at 6 months of age, the earliest such structural changes have been recorded in ASDs. "The difference in the trajectory of...
Increased Awareness Among Clinicians and Parents Could Lead to Earlier Diagnosis and Intervention for Minority Children with ASD BALTIMORE, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The first prospective study of ethnic differences in the symptoms of autism in toddlers shows that children from a minority background have more delayed language, communication and gross motor skills than Caucasian children with the disorder. Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute concluded...
Study highlights the interaction between epigenetics and genetics and exposure to a flame retardant in mice Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to autism-like behaviors that were exposed to a common flame retardant were less fertile and their offspring were smaller, less sociable and demonstrated marked deficits in learning and long-term memory when compared with the offspring of normal unexposed mice, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found. The researchers said the study...
Britain's first adult autism survey reveals previously 'invisible' group with autism New research on autism in adults has shown that adults with a more severe learning disability have a greater likelihood of having autism. This group, mostly living in private households, was previously 'invisible' in estimates of autism. Dr Terry Brugha, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Leicester, led research on behalf of the University for the report Estimating the Prevalence of Autism...
A hallmark of the individual is the cultivation of personal interests, but for some people, their intellectual pursuits might actually be genetically predetermined. Survey results published by Princeton University researchers in the journal PLoS ONE suggest that a family history of psychiatric conditions such as autism and depression could influence the subjects a person finds engaging. Although preliminary, the findings provide a new look at the oft-studied link between psychiatric...
A new study has shown that babies who develop autism show different brain responses within the first year of their life. The study may lead to tests that help doctors diagnose autism earlier in life. Autism is a spectrum of disorders where patients have trouble communicating. The disorders range from mental retardation where patients have little ability to communicate to Aspberger’s Syndrome that affects the patients’ social development. Dr. Mark Johnson of Birkbeck at the...
A team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that newly discovered mutations in an evolved assembly of genes cause Joubert syndrome, a form of syndromic autism. The findings are published in the January 26 online issue of Science Express. Joubert syndrome is a rare, recessive brain condition characterized by malformation or underdevelopment of the cerebellum and brainstem. The disease is due specifically to alterations in cellular...
In their first year of life, babies who will go on to develop autism already show different brain responses when someone looks at or away from them. Although the researchers are careful to say that the study, reported online on January 26 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, is only a first step toward earlier diagnosis, the findings do suggest that direct brain measures might help to predict the future development of autism symptoms in infants as young as six months. "Our findings...
