Research Articles

April 08, 2015

SafeMinds Funded Research Discovers that Increased Biome Diversity Produces Healthier, Smarter Immune System Responses

Allergy and Autoimmunity Decreases, Without Compromising Immune Response: Conventional wisdom in modern medicine has assumed that a necessary consequence of blocking allergies and autoimmune reactions is immune system suppression, which in turn causes patients to be more vulnerable to other infections and cancers. A new study published today in PLOS ONE by Duke University researchers, and funded in part by the Coalition of SafeMinds, found that increasing biodiversity in the body via biome enrichment, known to decrease allergies and autoimmune reactions, is not immune suppressive. This discovery holds great promise to treat autoimmune diseases successfully without compromising appropriate immune responses.

flame retardant being sprayed
March 22, 2015

SafeMinds Research for Autism Health

A study in Environmental Health Perspectives by Emily C. Somers and colleagues found that women of childbearing age with higher mercury levels in hair or blood were at much higher risk of developing antinuclear antibodies, a marker of autoimmunity.

March 19, 2015

What’s Good for the Gut is Good for the Brain: A New Perspective on Autism

A global scientific conference on gut microbiota took place this week in Spain. Presenter Elaine Hsiao explained that autism is often marked by GI disturbance and in an animal model of autism, symptoms can be reversed with microbiome rebalancing.  What’s good for the gut is good for the brain: A new perspective on autism Read more here.

May 22, 2014

IMFAR – Research Needs to Improve Lives of Those Living with Autism

The International Meeting for Autism Research, commonly known as IMFAR, just concluded its annual three-day conference on May 17, 2014.  SafeMinds Board and Research Committee Member, Laurette Janak, reviewed the Autism Speaks roadmap of the conference to see what she missed out on. The roadmap can be found here. “Autism Speaks began the conference with […]

May 15, 2014

Autism’s Environmental Component: New Research Upends Scientific Orthodoxy Strangling Autism Progress

By Sallie Bernard, President, SafeMinds New research has just come out which will hopefully drive a stake into a scientific theory that has strangled scientific progress in autism. The theory – that autism’s cause is almost entirely genetic – hasn’t matched the evidence for decades and has undermined promising avenues to prevention and effective treatments. […]

May 07, 2014

NIH Grant Opportunity for Researchers – Due Date 8/26/14

NIH Environmental Contributors to Autism Spectrum Disorders R01 Research Project Grant due August 26 (Letter of Intent due 30 days before application).

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