Texas Raises Organ Donor Registry; D.C. Not Ready For Medical Marijuana Sales; L.A. Health Department Facing Major Service Cuts
The Houston Chronicle: "Though Texas has the nation's lowest percentage of registered organ and tissue donors, several recent initiatives have more than doubled the state's donor rolls this year. The number enrolled in the Glenda Dawson Donate Life Texas Registry has ballooned since Jan...
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New York State Approves Quest Diagnostics' Fragile X Syndrome Test
An accurate, faster testing option to identify female carriers and other patients with genetic abnormalities that cause Fragile X Syndrome is now available to physicians in all fifty states with the recent approval in New York. Fragile X is the leading cause of inherited mental retardation and the most common known single gene cause of autism...
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Curemark Opens Autism Trials At New Jersey Site
Curemark, LLC, a drug research and development company focused on the treatment of neurological diseases, announced that Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, is participating in the company's Phase III clinical trials for CM-AT, Curemark's autism treatment. Saint Peter's is affiliated with the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia...
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Autism Charity Raises The Bar For Legal Campaigning, UK
The National Autistic Society (NAS) has ramped up its legal campaigning with the launch of a new Autism Legal Network and a call for cases with the potential to change the law for the half a million people with autism in the UK. Mark Lever, chief executive of the NAS said; "The NAS is evolving. Last year we successfully secured the landmark Autism Act...
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Seaside Therapeutics Reports Data From Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Study In Fragile X Syndrome
Seaside Therapeutics, Inc. announced data from the largest randomized, placebo-controlled study conducted to date in individuals with fragile X syndrome. In a Phase 2 study of STX209, clinically meaningful improvements on global and specific neurobehavioral outcomes were observed in the general study population...
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Asuragen And Collaborators Report Results Using PCR-Only Technologies For The Comprehensive Molecular Assessment Of The Fragile X Gene
Asuragen, Inc. announced the results from two collaborative studies, one with the University of California Davis M.I.N.D. Institute and another with Rush University Medical Center, that demonstrate comprehensive molecular profiling of the Fragile X Mental Retardation (FMR1) gene using advanced PCR-based methods...
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XenoPort Announces Presentation Of Preclinical Data For Acamprosate Prodrug At Fragile X Syndrome Conference
XenoPort, Inc. (Nasdaq:XNPT) announced that it has discovered a novel prodrug that has the potential to improve significantly the blood concentration of acamprosate compared with the currently approved formulation of acamprosate. Preclinical data on this new product candidate will be presented at the National Fragile X Foundation's 12th International Fragile X Conference in Detroit, Michigan...
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Leading Researchers To Share New Treatments At Fragile X International Conference
Accelerated research findings leading to potentially significant new treatments for fragile X syndrome (FXS) will be presented to nearly 1,000 family members and professionals at the 12th International Fragile X Conference in Dearborn July 21-25...
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New Survey By Enzymedica Links Autism & Digestion, Suggests Successful Strategies
Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the world. With 1 child in 91 facing the disorder, the diagnosis is more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined...
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A National Autistic Society Response To The Commission On The Funding Of Care And Support, UK
The National Autistic Society (NAS) has welcomed the establishment of the Commission on the Funding of Care and Support today, but urged that it must consider how to fund support for those with lifelong conditions, such as autism, who are less able to save and pay for their social care...
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Autism Detected In Unique Vocal Signature Of Baby Talk
Using a new type of "vocal signature" technology that focuses on sound patterns rather than words in child vocalizations and baby talk, researchers in the US say they have proved in principle that it is possible to screen for autism spectrum disorders in young children; they also hope the new method will greatly enhance the study of language development because it...
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New Technology Reveals A Unique Vocal Signature In Autism
A new automated vocal analysis technology could fundamentally change the study of language development as well as the screening for autism spectrum disorders and language delay, reports a study in the July 19 online Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...
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Dietary Issues In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can demonstrate feeding problems, food refusal, and limited food preferences from infancy, but energy intake and growth are not affected...
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Closer To A Treatment For Autism
Rubicon winner Dalila Pinto discovered a copying error in the DNA of trial subjects who suffered from autism or a similar condition. Some segments of their DNA were copied either once too often or missed out of the copying process. This is a highly promising result from the world's largest investigation into autism. The top journal Nature placed the results online on 9 June...
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Calif., R.I., Move To Strengthen Review Of Health Insurance Rates; Ind. Weighs Changes In State Employee Health Plans
The Los Angeles Times' Blog: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger moved Wednesday to implement a major element of the new national healthcare overhaul, seeking a $1-million federal grant to strengthen the state's review of health insurance rates. Much of the money would pay for actuaries to evaluate premium hikes sought by insurers. ...
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Autism-Related Study Discovers How Drug Interferes With Neuronal Cell Function
A York University study has shown for the first time how the drug misoprostol, which has been linked to neurodevelopmental defects associated with autism, interferes with neuronal cell function. It is an important finding because misoprostol is similar in structure to naturally-occurring prostaglandins, which are the key signaling molecules produced by fatty acids in the brain...
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Autism Families With New Pregnancies Sought For Vitamin D Research
Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Pediatrics (OHSU, Portland, Oregon) is seeking roughly 50-100 volunteer families to participate in a vitamin D study. The goal of the study is to find out whether giving Vitamin D to the pregnant mother, who already has had at least one previous child with autism, can prevent the recurrence of autism in the newborn sibling...
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Minn. Gov. Decides To Not Expand Medicaid Early; Ohio Wrestles With Increased Medicaid Costs In Overhaul; Kansas Officials Worry About 25% Cut
MinnPost: "As expected, Gov. Tim Pawlenty has declined the opportunity for Minnesota to get an early shot at expanding Medicaid eligibility. The federal health plan calls for all states to expand Medicaid eligibility to low-income adults without children in 2014, but Minnesota was among a few states offered a chance to do it earlier...
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Cellceutix Autism Research Demonstrates Increase In Serotonin Levels In Three Areas Of The Brain
Cellceutix Corporation (OTCBB: CTIX) is pleased to announce that they have completed another study in the research of KM-391, their novel compound being developed to treat the core symptoms of autism. Cellceutix is pioneering research in autism treatments and has been making solid progress with pre-clinical research as announced in previous press releases...
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Mothers Of Children With Autism Pay Price In Workplace
Mothers of children with autism see their careers disproportionally affected as they confront greater demands on their time, inflexible workplaces and increased medical costs, according to a new study by researchers at Washington State University Vancouver...
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Is Scientific American Right About Autism?
A Scientific American article asks, "What if Vitamin D Deficiency is a Cause of Autism?" (1) How could vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy cause autism, a genetic disease? Indeed, five researchers at Harvard, led by Dr. Dennis Kinney, recently endorsed and then modified the vitamin D theory of autism.(2) Very recently, Dr...
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Young People With Autism Are 'lost In Transition'
Young people with autism are often "lost in transition" and not diagnosed or treated effectively as teenagers, an eminent neuropsychiatrist has said. They end up being excluded from school, or never going to school, and rarely come to the attention of psychiatrists...
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The Autism Treatment Center Of America Releases 3rd Edition Of The Son-Rise Program Developmental Model For Curing Autism
The Autism Treatment Center of America has released a comprehensive, updated version of The Son-Rise Program Developmental Model. The model helps parents and caretakers of children with Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders with: 1. Measuring and formulating a clear baseline of a child's social ability, through the use of the model's assessment guide. 2...
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Identifying Utah Children With Autism: $2.4 Million CDC Grant Aids Researchers In Their Quest
In the ongoing effort to understand the growing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) nationwide, the University of Utah has received a $2.4 million, four-year grant to estimate the number of Utah 8-year-olds with ASDs and other developmental disabilities. The University is one of 11 national centers awarded a total of $5 million in grants by the U.S...
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Riley Hospital Autism Program To Provide A Helpful Hand To Schools Through New Indiana Resource Network
An outreach program at the Riley Hospital for Children Christian Sarkine Autism Treatment Center has been designated as one of six resource centers of the Indiana Resource Network established by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). HANDS in Autism is the only program focusing on autism named to the Indiana Resource Network (IRN)...
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