Originally published August 12, 2013 at 6:33 PM | Page modified August 12, 2013 at 6:37 PM WASHINGTON Autism advocates celebrated what they thought was a major victory when President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010: They expected the law to require all insurance companies to cover pricey, potentially lifelong treatments for those with the incurable condition. But instead of creating a national standard for autism coverage, the administration bowed to political pressure from states and insurers and left it to states to define, within certain parameters, the essential benefits that insurance companies must provide. Coverage requirements for autism treatments, such as behavioral counseling and speech and occupational therapy, already vary from state to state. Far from smoothing out those differences, critics say the ACA will add a new layer of complexity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says it will consider setting a national standard in 2016. Until then, states will decide what autism treatments insurance companies must cover. Q: What is autism, how is it treated and at what cost? A: Autism is a mental disorder affecting more than 2 million Americans and tens of millions of people worldwide. According to the … Continue reading →

The biggest study of its kind suggests autism might be linked with inducing and speeding up labor, preliminary findings that need investigating since labor is induced in increasing numbers of U.S. women, the authors and other autism experts say. It's possible that labor-inducing drugs might increase the risk or that the problems that lead doctors to start labor explain the results. These include mothers' diabetes and fetal complications, which have previously been linked with autism. Like most research into autism causes, the study doesn't provide conclusive answers, and the authors say the results shouldn't lead doctors to avoid inducing labor or speeding it up since it can be life-saving for mothers and babies. Simon Gregory, lead author and an associate professor of medicine and medical genetics at Duke University, emphasized, "We haven't found a connection for cause and effect. One of the things we need to look at is why they were being induced in the first place." Government data suggest 1 in 5 U.S. women have labor induced twice as many as in 1990. Smaller studies suggested a possible tie between induced labor and autism, but the new research is the largest to date, involving more than 600,000 births. … Continue reading →

Home Mail News Sports Finance Weather Games Groups Answers Flickr More omg! Shine Movies Music TV Health Shopping Travel Autos Homes Yahoo! News Search News Search Web Sign In Mail Help Account Info Help Suggestions Yahoo! Home Video Photos GMA Year in Review Odd Comics Travel Opinion Trending Now Who Knew? Weather The Upbeat U.S. U.S. Video GMA Education Religion Crimes and Trials Local Contributor Network Year In Review World World Video Middle East Europe Latin America Africa Asia Canada Australia/Antarctica Business Video Exclusives Today's Markets Stocks Personal Finance Marketplace Entertainment Video Clinton Concert Celebrity TV Movies Music Fashion Books Arts Theater Dear Abby Comics Odd News Sports Video NFL MLB NBA NCAAF NCAAB Soccer Cycling NHL Tennis Golf Boxing Motor Sports MMA Olympics Tech Gadgets Wireless Apple Social Media Security Open Source Gaming Apps This Could Be Big Upgrade Your Life Politics Remake America The Issues Women and Politics Press Releases Video Science Science Video Weather News Space / Astronomy Pets Dinosaurs / Fossils Biotech Energy Green Health Video Weight Loss Cancer Sexual Health Medications/Drugs Parenting/Kids Seniors/Aging Diseases/Conditions Blogs The Sideshow Katie's Take Power Players This Could Be Big Newsmakers Trending Now The Upbeat Who Knew? Nightline Fix Beyond … Continue reading →

Canadian researchers are starting to recruit patients for a new study to see whether oxytocin -- sometimes call the "cuddle hormone" -- could help with some of the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Oxytocin is a hormone released to induce labour, help with milk let-down during breastfeeding and to help mothers bond with their babies. Researchers at Toronto's Holland Bloorview have received a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to run a randomized clinical trial to see if oxytocin can also help improve social functioning in kids and teens with autism. People with autism seem to produce less of the hormone, so researchers hope to learn whether supplementing it through a nasal spray can help. Twelve-year-old Gabriel Penner has just taken part in a pilot study of the unusual treatment. He says he sometimes struggles connecting with others -- one of the symptoms of his Asperger's Syndrome. "I don't tend to interact with other people so much, generally, and I think being more social is definitely a good thing," he says. After having Gabriel take the oxytocin nasal spray as part of the study, his mother says she noticed a difference. "He was more interested and engaging with other … Continue reading →

Home Mail News Sports Finance Weather Games Groups Answers Flickr More omg! Shine Movies Music TV Health Shopping Travel Autos Homes Yahoo! News Search News Search Web Sign In Mail Help Account Info Help Suggestions Yahoo! Home Video Photos GMA Year in Review Odd Comics Travel Opinion Trending Now Who Knew? Weather The Upbeat U.S. U.S. Video GMA Education Religion Crimes and Trials Local Contributor Network Year In Review World World Video Middle East Europe Latin America Africa Asia Canada Australia/Antarctica Business Video Exclusives Today's Markets Stocks Personal Finance Marketplace Entertainment Video Clinton Concert Celebrity TV Movies Music Fashion Books Arts Theater Dear Abby Comics Odd News Sports Video NFL MLB NBA NCAAF NCAAB Soccer Cycling NHL Tennis Golf Boxing Motor Sports MMA Olympics Tech Gadgets Wireless Apple Social Media Security Open Source Gaming Apps This Could Be Big Upgrade Your Life Politics Remake America The Issues Women and Politics Press Releases Video Science Science Video Weather News Space / Astronomy Pets Dinosaurs / Fossils Biotech Energy Green Health Video Weight Loss Cancer Sexual Health Medications/Drugs Parenting/Kids Seniors/Aging Diseases/Conditions Blogs The Sideshow Katie's Take Power Players This Could Be Big Newsmakers Trending Now The Upbeat Who Knew? Nightline Fix Beyond … Continue reading →

Home Mail News Sports Finance Weather Games Groups Answers Flickr More omg! Shine Movies Music TV Health Shopping Travel Autos Homes Yahoo! News Search News Search Web Sign In Mail Help Account Info Help Suggestions Yahoo! Home Video Photos GMA Year in Review Odd Comics Travel Opinion Trending Now Who Knew? Weather The Upbeat U.S. U.S. Video GMA Education Religion Crimes and Trials Local Contributor Network Year In Review World World Video Middle East Europe Latin America Africa Asia Canada Australia/Antarctica Business Video Exclusives Today's Markets Stocks Personal Finance Marketplace Entertainment Video Clinton Concert Celebrity TV Movies Music Fashion Books Arts Theater Dear Abby Comics Odd News Sports Video NFL MLB NBA NCAAF NCAAB Soccer Cycling NHL Tennis Golf Boxing Motor Sports MMA Olympics Tech Gadgets Wireless Apple Social Media Security Open Source Gaming Apps This Could Be Big Upgrade Your Life Politics Remake America The Issues Women and Politics Press Releases Video Science Science Video Weather News Space / Astronomy Pets Dinosaurs / Fossils Biotech Energy Green Health Video Weight Loss Cancer Sexual Health Medications/Drugs Parenting/Kids Seniors/Aging Diseases/Conditions Blogs The Sideshow Katie's Take Power Players This Could Be Big Newsmakers Trending Now The Upbeat Who Knew? Nightline Fix Beyond … Continue reading →

Public release date: 12-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Andrea Estrada andrea.estrada@ia.ucsb.edu 805-893-4620 University of California - Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, Calif.) Autism experts from around the world will gather at UC Santa Barbara next month for the 6th Annual International Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) Autism and Asperger's Conference. Sponsored by UCSB's Koegel Autism Center, the conference will take place Thursday and Friday, September 19 and 20, at the campus's Corwin Pavilion. Open to the public, it will feature scholars, health care professionals, educators, and parents discussing autism, Asperger's syndrome, and cutting-edge intervention and treatment strategies. "This year's conference will include PRT techniques for teaching every aspect of autism spectrum disorder, ranging from first words, to socialization, to social conversation, and across the age span from treatments for infants to employment strategies for adults," said Lynn Kern Koegel, clinical director of the Koegel Autism Center and the Broad Asperger Center. Developed at UCSB, PRT is a protocol based on principles of positive motivation. Researchers have found that increasing children's participation in activities they enjoy and avoiding as much as possible those they do not can actually lessen the severity of autism spectrum disorder symptoms. Their work with infants … Continue reading →

Angela Kirk is coordinating a stroke support group with the NorthBay Medical Center and it is the only one of its kind in the county. (Joel Rosenbaum/JRosenbaum@TheReporter.com) Fourteen years ago, when Kirk was 34 and with her then-young sons at a Vacaville pizza parlor, she started having symptoms of a stroke. Thankfully, a police officer on a lunch break was able to call for help. "I had a fluttering in my head and then I started to lose my speech," Kirk recalled. "I couldn't talk and I had to use my hands to tell them my husband's phone number." Kirk was taken to Vaca Valley Hospital, where she spent 10 days in the Intensive Care Unit in a coma and completely paralyzed. Eventually, she improved enough to be taken to Napa, where she spent more than a month undergoing physical, speech and occupational therapy. She also joined a support group -- reluctantly. "My therapist would drag me, I didn't want to go," she said. "But it was very encouraging to keep going." The help she received in the group has inspired her to run a stroke support group in Fairfield. "Your life just stops," she said. "People want to know … Continue reading →

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital at Colney. Adam Gretton, Health correspondent Monday, August 12, 2013 7:00 AM Health chiefs have pledged to improve services at Norfolks biggest hospital after it emerged that the NHS trust was not hitting any of its stroke targets. To send a link to this page to a friend, you must be logged in. Bosses at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) have drawn up a recovery plan to improve the speed of treatment and standard of care for patients who have suffered a stroke. The hospital at Colney, which is one of three stroke centres in Norfolk and treats around 1,200 stroke patients a year, is currently failing to hit six key targets. However, officials hope to have a stroke improvement plan in place by February, which includes an increase in the number of dedicated stroke beds and additional nurses, physiotherapists and consultants. The pledge has been welcomed by members of the Norwich Clinical Commissioning Group. However, a question mark has been raised about how the improvements will be funded. Patients who have suffered a stroke are supposed to be admitted to a hyper-acute stroke unit (HASU) within four hours of arrival at hospital. … Continue reading →

MOON TWP. -- Targeting one of the nations most unrelenting health issues, Heritage Valley Health Systems has extended its stroke treatment and prevention wingspan significantly in the past six weeks. In July, Heritage Valley Beaver and Heritage Valley Sewickley hospitals were certified as primary stroke centers by the Joint Commission, a national organization that provides accreditation in various medical areas. The designation, according to Dr. John Cinicola, chief medical officer, means that Heritage Valley facilities are capable of providing the same stroke response as any of the nations largest hospitals. Its like you are living next door to any of the larger hospitals, Cinicola said. The designation will reduce response times for area residents suffering from stroke symptoms. Prior to this certification, local (emergency) services frequently bypassed Heritage Valley Sewickley and Heritage Valley Beaver to bring local patients displaying these symptoms to other hospitals that have the primary stroke center designation, said Linda Homyk, vice president and chief nursing officer for Heritage Valley Sewickley. Achieving this status now means that our community-based patients dont need to travel for care. In August, Heritage Valley also began offering a four-part screening opportunity that will identify high-risk stroke factors. The process takes less … Continue reading →