Obtaining an Autism Diagnosis Takes Longer for African-American Children
Shocking new research from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) shows that it takes three years along with multiple visits to several medical providers before African-American children are diagnosed with autism. After analyzing data on 584 African-American children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), AAP researchers found the average age of diagnosis to be 5.4 years, while the average age for an autism diagnosis for all races in the United States is 3.1 years. Additionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an experienced professional can diagnose ASD by age two.
Consumer Reports Rates Pesticide Exposure in Fruits & Vegetables
The consumer products testing group Consumer Reports (CR) has issued ratings on 49 fruits and vegetables to get the health benefits from these foods while minimizing the risk from ingesting toxic chemicals. CR analyzed five years of data from the Department of Agriculture on 24,000 samples of fruits and vegetables covering about 450 pestic
Advancement in Stem Cells to Treat the Gastrointestinal System
Scientists from the University of Sheffield and University College London have made a breakthrough in understanding the formation of the enteric nervous system (ENS) of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. Dysfunction of the ENS is linked to a wide range of conditions such as Parkinson’s, Hirschprung’s disease and autism. The scientists were able to generate enteric neurons in the lab using human pluripotent stem cells and successfully implant them into mice engineered to lack an ENS. The neurons took hold in the mouse GI tract and became functional. The findings pave the way for new regenerative treatments for GI diseases in humans.
Changes Seen in Autism Symptoms and Cognition From Adolescence to Adulthood
Planning a meaningful future for a child with autism can give even the calmest parents anxiety. Especially when they are tasked with making educational, employment and/or vocational decisions while research gaps regarding autism symptoms experienced in adulthood exist. A recent SafeMinds Shares article reported on a new study that examined changes in autism symptom severities from preschool to early elementary school years. The study found around half (54.4%) of the young participant’s autism severities remained unchanged and about half of the cohort experienced a change. Twenty-eight percent saw a reduction in their autism symptoms while, sadly, 16% had their symptoms worsen.
New Study Points to Abnormal Cholesterol Metabolism Association with Autism
Using DNA analyses of brain samples, a team of scientists from Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Northwestern University has recently established a link between lipid dysfunction and autism. The researchers assert that dyslipidemia is a new subtype of autism, which they maintain is caused by a cluster of genes which regulate cholesterol metabolism and brain development. While confident in their findings, the authors acknowledge that their new discovery leads to new questions, two of the most critical being, how do lipid variations cause neurodevelopmental dysfunction and could repairing lipid metabolism improve disease outcomes?
New Version of Bumetanide May Treat Autism While Reducing Side Effects
talian researchers report that a new small molecule they developed has reduced autism brain pathology in a mouse model of autism. The compound was also effective in reducing the core autism-like social and repetitive behaviors in the valproic acid (VPA) mouse model of ASD.
