KANSAS CITY, Mo. The number of children diagnosed with autism keeps rising. One in 68 has an autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Its unclear whether its becoming more common or is simply more recognized. The higher numbers are creating a need for more treatment programs. Childrens TLC has helped little ones in Kansas City with disabilities since the 1940s. Recently, it added an autism program for children as young as one-year-old. When Gabriel Rosario was about two, he stopped using words. He made only one sound eeeee and he would use it all day for everything, said his mother, Charity Goodwin Rosario. Gabriel wouldnt turn around and respond to his name being called. Hes my first child, my first-born child. So some things you think well, you dont want to get overreactive, said Rosario. But their pediatrician encourage testing, and that led to the diagnosis of autism, and treatment for it starting last fall at Childrens TLC in midtown Kansas City. Gabriel, now three, is one of the first kids in the autism program there. We work with 12 months on up to 5-years-old because if we can get that earlier detection as well as … Continue reading →

Published Apr 9, 2014 at 10:59 am (Updated Apr 9, 2014) EDISON Childrens Specialized Hospital presents the Autism Symposium on May 30, from 8:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pines Manor, which is located at 2085 State Rte. 27 in Edison. Participants will learn useful approaches and tips to help people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in their daily lives. By the end of the symposium, one will understand parents perspectives of having kids with ASD, learn how to effectively handle challenges often faced by people with ASD, learn effective educational and other forms of advocacy, and strategies for meaningful recreational activities, dating and parenting. The Autism Symposium is for health care providers, mental health professionals, adults with ASD, parents/caregivers, school personnel, therapists and other professionals interested in autism. Preregistration is required by May 9; registration fee is $150 for professionals; $50 for adults with autism, parents or caregivers. To register or for more information visit http://www.childrens-specialized.org/autismsymposium; lsalvatore@childrens-specialized.org or 1-888-244-5373 ext. 2490. Steven Shore, author and president emeritus of the Aspergers Association of New England, will be speaking. Shore was diagnosed with autism at a young age and was nonverbal until age 4. Today, he is recognized nationally as … Continue reading →

When someone suffers from a stroke, a silent countdown begins. A fast diagnosis and treatment can mean the difference between life and death. So scientists are working on a new blood test that one day could rapidly confirm whether someone is having a stroke and what kind. Their report appears in the ACS journal Analytical Chemistry. Steven A. Soper and colleagues note that strokes, which are the third leading cause of death and disability in the United States, have two possible causes. In ischemic strokes, a clot stops blood flow in a part of the brain. In hemorrhagic stroke, a blood vessel in the brain ruptures. Both can lead to similar symptoms, such as numbness on one side of the body, sudden weakness and headache. Current diagnostic tests can't tell between these two types. But treatment, ideally within three hours of onset, depends on the kind of stroke a person is having. Soper's collaborator, Alison Baird, who is at SUNY Downstate Stroke Center, found clues -- or biomarkers -- in the blood that can suggest the stroke type and assist in determining the course of proper treatment. Soper's team sought a way to detect those clues quickly. They built a … Continue reading →

Chronic cigarette smoking has a high co-occurrence with alcohol use disorders, and roughly 60 to 90 percent of alcohol dependent (AD) individuals seeking treatment are chronic smokers. Postural instability is also common among AD individuals, because of damage to the brain systems that maintain postural stability. A new study of the effects of chronic cigarette smoking on postural stability has found that chronic cigarette use continues to impact the systems regulating postural stability even during abstinence. Results will be published in the June 2014 online-only issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View. "Based on both anecdotal and empirical findings, postural instabilities with eyes open or closed appear to be highly prevalent in treatment-seeking AD individuals," explained Thomas Paul Schmidt, a research associate in the department of radiology and biomedical imaging at the University of California San Francisco, and San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. "Other investigators looking at the relationships between falls and alcohol intake have also reported on increased fall risk in those with a history of problem drinking." Schmidt, the corresponding author for the study, noted the uniqueness of its design. "Assessing postural stability over an eight-month period of abstinence from … Continue reading →