Autism DX By: Entrepreneurship Center @ UCSF … Continue reading →

Newswise The pattern of brain responses to words in 2-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder predicted the youngsters' linguistic, cognitive and adaptive skills at ages 4 and 6, according to a new study. The findings, to be published May 29 in PLOS ONE, are among the first to demonstrate that a brain marker can predict future abilities in children with autism. "We've shown that the brain's indicator of word learning in 2-year-olds already diagnosed with autism predicts their eventual skills on a broad set of cognitive and linguistic abilities and adaptive behaviors," said lead author Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the University of Washington's Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. "This is true four years after the initial test, and regardless of the type of autism treatment the children received," she said. In the study, 2-year-olds 24 with autism and 20 without listened to a mix of familiar and unfamiliar words while wearing an elastic cap that held sensors in place. The sensors measured brain responses to hearing words, known as event-related potentials. The research team then divided the children with autism into two groups based on the severity of their social impairments and took a closer look at the brain … Continue reading →

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. Emory University may be blazing a trail that could help children with autism. Its about to start a study on a blood test that may catch autism earlier. That could have big implications for treatment, as autism can affect childrens' speech and ability to communicate and interact. Parent Stephanie Medlin told Channel 2s Diana Davis she knew something was wrong when her 2-year-old twins weren't talking much. They had about three or four words that they could use correctly, and they should have had like 10 to 20 words, Medlin said. It took months of behavioral tests, uncertainty and delays to find out it was autism. Medlin said that added to the stress. Its really hard to be a parent in that limbo, because you absolutely want to do the best that you can for your children, said Medlin. Autism is diagnosed by watching children's behavior and performance on developmental tests. Emory now will be one of 20 places across the country to study the accuracy of a blood test for autism. Dr. Micheal Morrier of the Emory Autism Center it would require only a small sample of childrens blood. Its looking for a specific sort of … Continue reading →

When a Michigan boy with autism cried during a recent haircut, his mother reportedly got an earful from the salon owner. Now, the story has gone viral prompting a boycott of the business. Ashley Bays says she took her son, Grayson, 2, for a haircut Saturday at the M Spa Salon and Day Spa in Portage, Mich. Though the boy had been to the salon before and exhibited similar behavior Bays tells MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette that this is the first time shes had any problems. According to a Facebook posting from a fellow salon patron, the boy was crying during his haircut, but was not a bother. All of a sudden a lady stormed into the portion of the spa we were sitting in and proceeded to give the mom a severe tongue lashing, reads the Facebook posting from Vanessa Hunt, which has been shared more than 34,000 times. It got silent in the room besides the woman ranting to the mother. It was seriously painful to watch. At the conclusion of this womans tantrum to the mother the mother said through tears, Im so sorry, hes autistic, Hunt wrote. The woman who allegedly approached Bays was later identified as Michelle … Continue reading →

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - May 29, 2013) - Mendability today announced that they have launched their new and signature product, Mendability for Autism. This is an innovative, clinically proven new autism therapy that provides affordable treatment options for children with autism. Mendability for Autism was the basis for a research program and clinical trial at University of California, Irvine (UCI). Mendability for Autism uses a treatment known as Sensory Enrichment Therapy. Researchers at UCI documented marked improvement in children with autism ages 3 to 12 who engaged in sensory enrichment treatment. Study results are published online in Behavioral Neuroscience. Sensory Enrichment Therapy is a carefully constructed protocol of sensory exercises at home. Sensory Enrichment activities can include placing hands in bowls of water with different temperatures, walking on surfaces with different textures, and other such simple activities that can be done at home using household items. There are no medications involved, and it is fully complementary with standard autism care. Mendability co-founder, Eyal Aronoff, is also a co-founder of Quest Software (now a Dell company) and Fuel Freedom Foundation. He found Sensory Enrichment Therapy to work on his daughter, and it helped her overcome her autism. Today she functions as a … Continue reading →

Released: 5/29/2013 8:00 AM EDT Source Newsroom: Mayo Clinic Newswise JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Devices snaked into the brain artery of a patient experiencing a stroke that either snatch and remove the offending clot or pump a dissolving drug into the blockage should primarily be used within a clinical trial setting, say a team of vascular neurologists at Mayo Clinic in Florida. In a commentary published in the May 29 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the physicians say the devices, known collectively as endovascular stroke therapy, should predominantly be limited to use within clinical trials. This is necessary, they say, in order to determine which patients might benefit from use of these devices, and what the risks of such interventional procedures are, when compared to the current standard of care for ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke, the most common form of stroke, results from a blockage that restricts blood flow in the brain. A growing number of physicians who treat stroke are currently using these tools, so the recommendation to limit their use to clinical trials will be controversial, acknowledges Kevin Barrett, M.D., co-medical director of Mayo Clinics Primary Stroke Center in Florida. Dr. Barrett co-authored the commentary with James Meschia, M.D., and … Continue reading →