by Kristie Auman-Bauer, Pennsylvania State University The ability to recognize faces varies greatly, but individuals with autism spectrum disorders can especially struggle, having huge implications for social interaction. Penn State researchers, for the first time, recently analyzed 40 years of autism data to determine deficits in face recognition. According to Jason Griffin, doctoral candidate in the...
Tag: <span>Autism</span>
New theory suggests autism may not be tied to mindblindness
by Ghent University Tracking the extent to which other people think differently from yourself appears to be more relevant than understanding someone else’s thoughts per se. Neuroscientists at Ghent University and the University of New South Wales (Sydney) came to this conclusion. Through a systematic review and critical analysis of more than 50 neurological imaging...
This online calculator can predict your stroke risk, study finds
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HEALTH SYSTEM MARK DEBOER, MD, OF UVA CHILDREN’S, DEVELOPED A CALCULATOR THAT CAN PREDICT THE RISK OF STROKE, DIABETES AND CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. HE DEVELOPED THE CALCULATOR IN COLLABORATION WITH MATTHEW Doctors can predict patients’ risk for ischemic stroke based on the severity of their metabolic syndrome, a conglomeration of conditions that...
Autism: How a gene alteration modifies social behavior
Researchers report on a treatment approach that could normalize social behavior in autism UNIVERSITY OF BASEL A team of researchers at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, has discovered a new connection between a genetic alteration and social difficulties related to autism: A mutation in the neuroligin-3 gene reduces the effect of the hormone oxytocin. In...
Investigational drug for Alzheimer’s disease may help autistic children
Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc. An extensive international study led by Prof. Illana Gozes of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry found deposits of the tau protein typically found in Alzheimer’s patients in tissues taken from the postmortem brain of a 7-year-old autistic child. The child suffered from the ADNP syndrome,...
Vascular development may be at risk in autism
by The Ottawa Hospital A Canadian collaboration led by Dr. Baptiste Lacoste has undertaken the first ever in-depth study of vasculature in the autistic brain. Credit: The Ottawa Hospital A Canadian collaboration led by Dr. Baptiste Lacoste has undertaken the first ever in-depth study of vasculature in the autistic brain. The product of four years...
Women ‘camouflaging’ autistic traits suffer severe mental health challenges, study finds
by Christie Allen, Brigham Young University In the United States, girls represent only about 20% of autism diagnoses. While boys may simply be more likely to have autism than girls, mental health professionals suspect that girls are also more adroit at suppressing autistic traits, which could prevent their autism from being diagnosed, if it is...
Scientists uncover new genetic mutations linked to autism spectrum disorder
by Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands have identified mutations in a gene called CNOT1 that affect brain development and impair memory and learning. The study is the first to link neurodevelopmental delays with CNOT1, suggesting that drugs that...
Unique metabolic markers detect over 50% of children affected by autism spectrum disorder
New findings from the Children’s Autism Metabolome Project (CAMP) Study, a 1,102 subject study of the metabolism of children with ASD, published in Autism Research Madison, WI (June 18, 2020): In a paper published online this week in Autism Research, scientists at NeuroPointDX, a division of Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc., in collaboration with researchers at...
Significant methodological flaws in a 2020 study claiming to show unvaccinated children are healthier
CLAIM Vaccinated children are more likely to have adverse health outcomes like developmental delays, asthma, and ear infections compared to unvaccinated children. VERDICT SOURCE: Brian Hooker, Children’s Health Defense, 28 May 2020 DETAILS Inadequate support: This claim is based on a single study which used highly biased methods. Rigorous and large-scale studies have not found...