Monthly Archives: February 2012

To: HEALTH, MEDICAL AND NATIONAL EDITORS Epilepsy Therapy Project Announces "Shark Tank" Winner with Most Innovative Product WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Epilepsy Therapy Project (ETP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate new therapies for people living with epilepsy and seizures, and the parent organization of epilepsy.com, today released presentation highlights from its successful 2012 Epilepsy Pipeline Update Conference held in San Francisco and announced the winner of its "Shark Tank" competition for the most innovative new product idea in epilepsy treatment and care. This year's epilepsy pipeline conference featured a stellar line up of leading drug and device developers, investigators and industry leaders and showcased cutting-edge epilepsy therapies in development, including medical technology and therapeutic products. The winner of ETP's inaugural "Shark Tank" competition is Charles Anderson of HiPass Design for his Smartphone-based Movement Detector, a life-saving seizure alarm. Anderson's invention was inspired from a personal concern that he was unable to detect his son's seizures at night. Anderson first devised a computer system that analyzed images from an infrared camera and detected seizure movements with few false alarms. The prototype system, which incorporates an iPhone with camera, sounds an alarm while recording valuable video … Continue reading →

20-02-2012 08:59 A news report on France 3 (a public channel of French television) about the successful treatment of autistic children with antibiotics. Read the original here: Treating Autism With Antibiotics (France 3 19/20, Feb 17, 2012) - Video … Continue reading →

Rooms for Good program to raise funds for the world’s leading autism and science advocacy organization in March and April Nashville, TN (PRWEB) February 21, 2012 Gaylord Hotels knows what it means to give voice to a good cause. The hotel group has been working to support charities through its Rooms for Good program for the last year, and today announced Autism Speaks as its March/April partner. Gaylord hotels will donate 10 percent of proceeds raised through a special package rate available at all four Gaylord Hotels resorts throughout March and April to Autism Speaks. “Gaylord Hotels’ Rooms for Good program has allowed us to help some wonderful organizations,” said Amy A. Atkinson, vice president of marketing and public relations, Gaylord Hotels, “and we are very appreciative of this opportunity to lend another voice to the Autism Speaks campaign. We are excited to be able to work with them again this year to help raise awareness and funds.” The world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, Autism Speaks works to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders by funding biomedical research into the causes, prevention, and treatments; raising public awareness about autism and its effects on … Continue reading →

February 20, 2012 Comments on this story (0) Barbara Turnbull LIFE REPORTER Meaningful work for people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome is possible when abilities are nurtured from a young age, says autism advocate Temple Grandin. That’s a message Grandin will bring to Toronto on Tuesday, as part of a seminar on developing talents for young adults with autism, a complex neurobiological disorder that impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others, and Asperger’s, a milder form of the disorder. Grandin, 64, is best known for her revolutionary transformation of livestock-handling facilities and her best-selling books The Way I See It and Thinking in Pictures about how people with autism think. She earned a PhD in animal science from the University of Illinois and is now an associate professor at Colorado State University. She was already in demand as a public speaker when her profile exploded in 2010 with HBO’s Emmy Award-winning movie Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes. That same year, she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. She doesn’t get home much these days, she says in a recent telephone interview from Sacramento, Calif., and enjoys sharing her messages with appreciative audiences. Here … Continue reading →

MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Black children with autism tend to be diagnosed later than white children with the disorder, and this delay can lead to longer and more intensive treatment, researchers say. Lack of access to quality, affordable and culturally knowledgeable health care are among the reasons for the delay in a diagnosis of autism in black children, said researcher Martell Teasley, an associate professor in the College of Social Work at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Teasley also suggested that social stigma attached to mental health issues within the black community may add to the problem. Some black parents may find it hard to accept that their child has autism, so even when the disorder is diagnosed, there may be a reluctance to use autism treatment services. Misdiagnosis is also a potential problem, the study authors noted. "There are no subjective criteria for diagnosing autism. Only brain scans can truly provide appropriate diagnoses, because we are dealing with biological and chemical imbalances in the brain," Teasley said in a university news release. "Not every child is going to have access to this kind of medical evaluation, particularly those who are indigent and don't have health care funding." … Continue reading →

Public release date: 21-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Jane E. Rubinstein jrubinstein@rubenstein.com 212-843-8287 Autism Speaks NEW YORK, N.Y. (February 21, 2012) ? Autism Speaks, North America's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today released the Sleep Strategies for Children with Autism: A Parent's Guide and Treating Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Tool Kit for Dental Professionals, both available for free download on Autism Speaks Tools You Can Use webpage. Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep through the night, so sleep experts in Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN) and the companion Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) have addressed how to help improve sleep for children and teens affected by ASD. The Sleep Strategies Guide helps families select ideas that have the best potential to work well with their lifestyle. It recommends that families implement their sleep plan when they have the time and energy to see if it will work, trying one small change, and then slowly incorporating other changes. With consistent routines and persistent effort, families often see changes in their child's sleep patterns over several weeks. "If your child or teen with ASD … Continue reading →

By Pat Hagan Last updated at 8:08 AM on 21st February 2012 A device that ‘traps’ blood clots so they can be safely removed from the brain could be a radical new treatment for stroke. The cage-like gadget ensnares the clot, allowing doctors to retrieve it so blood flow can quickly be restored. Strokes kill around 200 people every day in the UK, and it is estimated the NHS spends ?2.3?billion a year treating and looking after the 100,000 people annually struck down by the life-threatening condition. Strokes kill around 200 people every day in the UK Around 85 per cent of victims are affected by ischaemic strokes, where a clot travels to the brain and shuts off its blood supply. The rest suffer haemorrhagic strokes, where a blood vessel bursts in the brain, causing potentially fatal bleeding. Under current treatment guidelines, ischaemic stroke victims are treated with a clot-removing drug called tissue plasminogen activator. But this is only really effective within the first three hours after a stroke, after which a clot may be too hard and well-developed to break up with drugs.    However, the experimental new gadget, called the Solitaire Flow Restoration Device, could potentially be used … Continue reading →

Public release date: 21-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Anders Bach anba@farma.ku.dk (45) 40-32-08-06 University of Copenhagen Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have designed, produced and patented a new chemical compound for the possible treatment of brain damage caused by stroke. The compound binds 1,000 times more effectively to the target protein in the brain than the potential drug currently being tested on stroke victims. The results of biological tests have just been published in the renowned journal PNAS. More than 140,000 people die each year from stroke in the United States. Stroke causes the brain to release large amounts of glutamate, an activating signal compound, all at once. This overactivates the receptors in the surrounding healthy tissue, causing the level of calcium in the cells to rise dramatically. This then kick-starts a toxic chain reaction causing cell death. Scientists believe that this process is the cause of the brain damage that occurs in the wake of a stroke. Therefore they are looking for compounds that can limit cell death: "Research on animal models shows that the new compound we have designed and produced reduces the dead area in the brain after a stroke by 40 per … Continue reading →

MEDICAL experts from the North East are piloting a new tool to ensure stroke patients get the best treatment. Having developed the FAST acronym – face, arms, speech and time – which has been seen on national TV adverts, the Newcastle University and NHS team are now trying out an app for use on smartphones or tablets. The iPad app, called DASH II, aims to help people who have had a stroke and their medical team work out which course of treatment is most suitable for them. The app is being trialled in Newcastle and North Tyneside hospitals to help weigh up the risks and benefits of different treatments for people who have had an ischaemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot on the brain. Its potential benefits have caught the attention of the national NHS after the researchers were nominated by a public vote as one of the top 50 uses of technology. The app will be demonstrated to the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley at the Maps and Apps Showcase in London tomorrow. From the moment people suffer a stroke, medics only have a four and a half-hour window to treat them with clot-busting drugs. This means … Continue reading →