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.
Marijuana Use During Pregnancy Linked to Autism
A new Canadian study which examined 500,000 births in Ontario between 2007 and 2012 found that .6% of pregnant mothers used Cannabis while pregnant. Of the total birth cohort of 500,000, 1.4% of children later received an autism diagnosis. That number increased to 2.2% for children whose mothers used marijuana during pregnancy. Public health institutions in Canada and the United States have long warned pregnant women to abstain from Cannabis while pregnant.
New Study Links Autism and Melatonin System Disturbances
The majority of individuals with autism have low melatonin levels which can lead to a myriad of conditions including sleep disturbances, emotional regulation disorders, sensory processing dysfunction, inflammation throughout the body and gastrointestinal disorders. A new study out of China believes that understanding the interplay between abnormal melatonin levels and symptoms and conditions experienced at the onset of autism is associated and could lead to novel therapeutic strategies for individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
The Sluggish Pace of Autism Response by the Feds
On August 11, the Office of Autism Research Coordination (OARC) of the National Institute of Mental Health announced the release of its 2018-2019 Update to the IACC Strategic Plan For Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, or IACC, is the primary advisory body designated by Congress to address activities related to autism by the Federal Government. It was reauthorized and funded under the Autism CARES Act passed in 2019 and is charged with drafting and updating the autism strategic plan each year.
