LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Experts estimate one in five children with epilepsy does not respond to medication, but now patients and their parents have some hopeful news. There's a new treatment option that uses lasers to stop the seizures. When Jessie Fernandez was little, she woke up scared every morning. "I was getting up every day thinking what if I have a seizure today?" said Fernandez. She had her first epileptic seizure when she was 10. After that, she would have one, two, up to five seizures a day. "In our class they don't have regular desks or chairs; they have stools. So I was just doing my work, and I fell back and hit my head, and they called the ambulance," said Fernandez. The seizures were caused by a small brain tumor. When medication didn't help, her only option was an invasive brain surgery. "Traditionally the way we perform those surgeries is actually remove the part of the brain that's causing the seizures," said Dr. John Ragheb, Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Miami Children's Hospital. Fernandez had a different type of surgery called Visualase Laser Ablation. An MRI focuses on the target area, and a laser fiber is inserted … Continue reading →

DUBOIS, Pa. A camp in DuBois this week is offering a unique experience for youngsters with disabilities. DuBois Area Families for Effective Autism Treatment (DaFEAT) is currently hosting a bike camp for children with disabilities. The non-profit organization focuses on providing autism advocacy for families in the area. This week, iCan Shine Bike Camp is teaching kids with disabilities how to get on a bike and feel comfortable. "It was just too much for her. Her legs weren't strong enough. Going down hill was always scary for her," Beverly Folmer said. Folmer's 11-year-old daughter, Emily, has prader willi syndrome. It's a congenital disease that affects 1 in every 15,000 kids. Folmer said her family drove 4.5 hours from Maryland so her daughter could participate in the camp. "I can't wait to see. She's done great so far. I can't wait to see what she does as the week goes on," Folmer said. Organizers said 17 kids are signed up for the camp this week. Read the original: Camp teaches kids with disabilities how to ride bicycles … Continue reading →

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, June 21 (HealthDay News) -- In some children with autism, levels of immune system antibodies to gluten proteins are elevated, a new study shows. The finding may have implications for the cause and treatment of gastrointestinal troubles that often accompany autism spectrum disorders. Diets excluding gluten have become popular in the autism community, but the effectiveness of such diets has not been confirmed. However, according to the new study, "there appears to be an increased immune reactivity to gluten in children with autism, which is associated with gastrointestinal symptoms," said lead researcher Armin Alaedini, an assistant professor of medical sciences at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. The study did not find any link between autism and celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that is triggered by gluten. Gluten is found in many wheat and related grain products. In the study, Alaedini's team reviewed the medical records and blood samples of 140 children, 37 of whom had autism. Researchers tested the blood samples for antibodies to a marker of celiac disease and antibodies to gliadin, a marker of gluten. In addition, patients also were tested for genes associated with celiac disease. Alaedini stressed … Continue reading →

Some children with autism have weak brain connections in regions that link speech with emotional rewards, possibly signalling a new pathway in treatment, researchers say. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday is the first to suggest that the reason why children with autism display an insensitivity to human speech may be linked to faulty circuitry in the brain's reward centres. 'Weak brain connectivity may impede children with autism from experiencing speech as pleasurable,' said Vinod Menon, senior author of the study and professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University. Researchers took magnetic resonance imaging brain scans of 20 children with a high-functioning type of autism; they had normal range IQs and could speak and read, but had a hard time in conversation or understanding emotional cues. By comparing the scans to those of 19 children without autism, they found that the brains of youngsters with autism showed poor connections to brain regions that release dopamine in response to rewards. On the left side of the brain, the autistic children showed weak connections to the nucleus accumbens and the ventral tegmental area. And on the right side, in the voice-selective cortex where … Continue reading →