Tears of frustration rolled down Rick Bejaran's face as he spoke about the alleged bad treatment his 11-year-old son Ricky is receiving at Raul Garza Elementary School in San Benito. "(His teacher told me), he was coughing in the library and not covering his mouth, so we asked all the students to get-up and move to another part of the library where they wouldn't be near Ricky. That didn't sound right to me at all, Bejaran said. Ricky was diagnosed with PDD or Pervasive Developmental Disorder - a form of Autism - when he was 3 years old. He didn't even speak a word until he was 7 years old. "It was overwhelming to find out, you know, what Autism really was and having to deal with it," his father said. "But he's a very loving little boy, added his mother Jessica Bejaran. He loves to give hugs, he loves to give kisses, he's always excited." Their son is having trouble adjusting to changes at school. They've repeatedly asked for someone who knows how to handle children with Autism to shadow Ricky throughout the school day, but that's been unsuccessful. Just last week, Ricky had a violent outburst at school. … Continue reading →

Duke researchers create automated video analysis tools to identify children on the autism spectrum earlier By Ken Kingery Most schools across the United States provide simple vision tests to their studentsnot to prescribe glasses, but to identify potential problems and recommend a trip to the optometrist. Researchers are now on the cusp of providing the same kind of service for autism. Researchers at Duke University have developed software that tracks and records infants activity during videotaped autism screening tests. Their results show that the program is as good at spotting behavioral markers of autism as experts giving the test themselves, and better than non-expert medical clinicians and students in training. Snapshot from one of the video tracking tests in a clinical setting. Were not trying to replace the experts, said Jordan Hashemi, a graduate student in computer and electrical engineering at Duke. Were trying to transfer the knowledge of the relatively few autism experts available into classrooms and homes across the country. We want to give people tools they dont currently have, because research has shown that early intervention can greatly impact the severity of the symptoms common in autism spectrum disorders. The study focused on three behavioral tests that … Continue reading →

A new global study aims to establish whether a new class of drug can reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes 3,000 people in the UK who have suffered a heart attack or stroke or have peripheral arterial disease are being recruited for a world-wide study which will investigate medication that could lower the risk of patients having a second cardiovascular event. The new study called FOURIER (sponsored by Amgen Inc. and supported by the Imperial College Clinical Trials Unit) has been launched in the UK as part of a global programme (also taking place across Europe, US, Canada, Australia, Asia and Latin America) to provide more evidence to inform and guide future strategies in the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease The study will investigate whether taking a new type of treatment, which studies so far suggest can reduce LDL cholesterol by about 50%, on top of a statin will reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events compared to just taking statin therapy. 22,500 people who have had an ischaemic stroke, a heart attack or who have peripheral arterial disease are being recruited world-wide for the trial which is expected to last 5 years. People taking part in the … Continue reading →

HOUSTON - With the growing popularity of alternative medicine, many pet owners are turning to acupuncture needles to relieve their animals' pain. Dr. Timothy Harkness uses acupuncture on animals at the Houston Humane Society and says he sees big improvements after treatment. "If you have a dog with arthritis, we will treat him and let him loose about two hours later and the dog is walking, so I know I have improvement. I haven't used any drugs, all I have used is needles," said Dr. Timothy Harkness, Houston Humane Society's Chief Veterinarian. He says the reason he likes acupuncture is because there are potentially no negative side effects in comparison with pain medications. "Nausea, overdosing, dogs become ataxia, can't walk -- that doesn't take place with the use of acupuncture," said Dr. Harkness. A Chihuahua named Lauren was hit by car and broke her pelvis bone. Dr. Harkness used acupuncture to help her heal and she is now ready to be adopted. "It will not cure everything but it will help arthritis I have used acupuncture in conjunction with herbs, as far as treatments of tumors, you can actually suppress it, release the heat from the tumor and the tumor … Continue reading →