Monthly Archives: May 2012

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A retired airman who dedicated 21 years to the United States Air Force is denied medical coverage for his autisitc five-year-old daughter.Sara Bryan was diagnosed with autism at age four. The news was devastating to her parents, Jeff Bryan and his wife, Lisa.I was stunned. You know, it was in the back of my mind that it was a possibility, but hearing it and knowing it was real, was shocking, said Lisa Bryan.Even more shocking was when Lisa realized her insurance, TRICARE, wouldnt cover treatment.Its heartbreaking and thats no way for us to be treating our soldiers who are over there keeping us free, she said.Currently, TRICARE provides limited autism treatment for active duty military personnel. Those who retire after 20 years and those who were wounded and forced to medically retire, are not eligible for autism treatments or therapies, including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), for their child.ABA is a behavioral health treatment that has shown to be effective in improving outcomes for children with autism.Saras development pediatrician recommended 25 to 40 hours a week of ABA.Children who were treated with ABA before age 6 had the best chance of reaching their potential. I read how … Continue reading →

Public release date: 29-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Erin Digitale digitale@stanford.edu 650-724-9175 Stanford University Medical Center STANFORD, Calif. A specific antioxidant supplement may be an effective therapy for some features of autism, according to a pilot trial from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital that involved 31 children with the disorder. The antioxidant, called N-Acetylcysteine, or NAC, lowered irritability in children with autism as well as reducing the children's repetitive behaviors. The researchers emphasized that the findings must be confirmed in a larger trial before NAC can be recommended for children with autism. Irritability affects 60 to 70 percent of children with autism. "We're not talking about mild things: This is throwing, kicking, hitting, the child needing to be restrained," said Antonio Hardan, MD, the primary author of the new study. "It can affect learning, vocational activities and the child's ability to participate in autism therapies." The study appears in the June 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry. Hardan is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford and director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic at Packard Children's. Stanford is filing a patent for the use of NAC in … Continue reading →

In the last two years, autism cases have increased by 23 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means that one in every 88 children in the United States is on the spectrum. While there are various treatment options available for children suffering from autism, Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum, medical director of the National Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers, recently conducted a study that revealed food and nutrient sensitivities play a significant role in the lives of autistic children. With the average American getting over 150 pounds of sugar each year, and there being almost 85,000 new chemicals that have been added to our environment, it has become very difficult for many people's immune systems to tell friend from foe, Teitelbaum said. This has resulted in a marked increase in sensitivities, especially to common foods. The study, funded by the NAET research foundation, utilized what is known as the NAET treatment a method that involves a desensitization technique that ultimately teaches the immune system to get back in harmony with the environment, Teitelbaum said. For an immune system that is overreactingNAET is like pushing the restore factory defaults button when a computer program has gone haywire, Teitelbum added. … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (May 29, 2012) A specific antioxidant supplement may be an effective therapy for some features of autism, according to a pilot trial from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital that involved 31 children with the disorder. The antioxidant, called N-Acetylcysteine, or NAC, lowered irritability in children with autism as well as reducing the children's repetitive behaviors. The researchers emphasized that the findings must be confirmed in a larger trial before NAC can be recommended for children with autism. Irritability affects 60 to 70 percent of children with autism. "We're not talking about mild things: This is throwing, kicking, hitting, the child needing to be restrained," said Antonio Hardan, MD, the primary author of the new study. "It can affect learning, vocational activities and the child's ability to participate in autism therapies." The study appears in the June 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry. Hardan is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford and director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic at Packard Children's. Stanfordis filing a patent for the use of NAC in autism, and one of the study authors has a financial stake in a company that makes and sells … Continue reading →

OREM -- Timpanogos Regional Hospital has been nationally recognized for its high-quality care when it comes to treating stroke patients. The hospital was recently awarded the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With Guidelines- Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes Timpanogos Regional for being successful in ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards. "This award shows our firm commitment, to delivering the most up to date stroke care possible to those communities we serve," Julie Thornton, ICU director at Timpanogos Regional, said in a press release. "Our staff is committed to nationally recognized standards that will give our patients every opportunity to live healthy, productive lives." To receive the award Timpanogos Regional achieved at least 12 consecutive months at 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-stroke quality achievement indicators and achieved at least 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-stroke quality measures during that same period of time. According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. On average, someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 800,000 people suffer … Continue reading →

To view our videos, you need to enable JavaScript. Learn how. install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now. Then come back here and refresh the page. Strokes affect more than 795,000 Americans every year. On average, a stroke happens every 40 seconds. Putting one foot in front of the other can be daunting for many stroke patients. Something learned decades upon decades ago, a skill possibly taken for granted, must be relearned as stroke patients strive to retrain the brain. "What we do is work to recruiting brain cells that did survive the injury to volunteer to take over the job of the guys who die," said Dr. Vu Nguyen from the Stroke Rehabilitation Program at Carolinas Rehabilitation. The National Stroke Association reports the signs include: sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, trouble seeing or walking, loss of balance or severe headache with no known cause. There are two kinds of stroke: ischemic and hemorrhagic. Patients recover from both, but the key is getting treated as soon as possible. "If people spend even two hours at home waiting for the symptoms to go away then we are really losing time in our treatment window," said … Continue reading →