With an eight-bed epilepsy monitoring unit and an expanded team of experts, Spectrum Health is aiming to provide relief to the many patients with epilepsy whose seizures are not controlled by medication. The newly renovated unit at Spectrums Butterworth Hospital provides a place for doctors to monitor patients, analyze where in the brain their seizures originate, and determine if they could be helped with surgery. In the monitoring unit, the epileptologists videotape patients with two cameras and track their brainwaves with EEG (electroencephalogram). And because the goal is to see what happens when they have a seizure, the patient is taken off medication and deprived of sleep or exposed to triggers that could control a seizure. If dancing or walking sets off a seizure, the staff might encourage that while preparing for a collapse with mats or a harness that hangs from the ceiling. Some of the patients who come here have very unique stories, said Dr. Brien Smith, an eplileptologist and director of the program. Sometimes seizures can be set off by very different stimuli. You really have to design the environment to capture an episode. In some cases, electrodes are implanted in the patients brain to locate the … Continue reading →

Editor's Choice Main Category: Autism Article Date: 15 Sep 2012 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for: Neuronal Circuits In Autism Can Be Reversed 5 (1 votes) 3.5 (2 votes) A specific dysfunction in neuronal circuits has been identified, by Professors Peter Scheiffele and Kaspar Vogt at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, that results from autism. The researchers also discovered a way to reverse these neuronal changes. They believe that their findings, published in the journal Science, will have a great effect in drug development for treating autism. Current estimates have revealed that about 1% of all kids develop an autistic spectrum disorder. Autism is a hereditary developmental disorder of the brain, where people may experience fixed behavioral traits, disabled social functioning,and restricted speech development. There are several mutations in over 300 genes identified as a central risk factor for the development of autism. One example is the gene neuroligin-3, which has a role in the formation of synapses- a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell. Roche and a team of researchers from the Biozentrum at the University of Basel have detected a fault in the way signals are transmitted … Continue reading →

By Jim Shelton, Register Staff NEW HAVEN In a major step for autism research, the Yale School of Medicine is embarking on a five-year, $15 million push to develop new diagnostic tools and treatment protocols for autism in girls. Its part of an overall $100 autism research project announced recently by the National Institutes for Health. Preliminary work already has begun, and Yale researchers expect to start working with patients by December. This is a game changer, said Kevin Pelphrey of the Yale Child Study Center, who is director of the Yale Autism Center for Excellence and principal investigator for the project. Its a crucial time. If we can put all this research together, I think were going to do something fantastic. Ill be upset if we dont have some kind of treatment to offer. Autism, a disorder that can impair socialization, communication, learning and behavior, affects one in 88 children in the U.S. It is diagnosed more often today than in previous generations, Pelphrey explained, owing to more standardized diagnostic methods and a greater awareness of autism by physicians. Its not a true increase in the number of kids having autism, Pelphrey said. Were much better at picking it … Continue reading →

By Jim Shelton, Register Staff jshelton@nhregister.com / Twitter: @jimboshelton James McPartland, left, and Kevin Pelphrey of the Yale Child Study Center, will be helping to lead a study of autism in girls. NEW HAVEN In a major step for autism research, the Yale School of Medicine is embarking on a five-year, $15 million push to develop new diagnostic tools and treatment protocols for autism in girls. Its part of an overall $100 autism research project announced recently by the National Institutes for Health. Preliminary work already has begun, and Yale researchers expect to start working with patients by December. This is a game changer, said Kevin Pelphrey of the Yale Child Study Center, who is director of the Yale Autism Center for Excellence and principal investigator for the project. Its a crucial time. If we can put all this research together, I think were going to do something fantastic. Ill be upset if we dont have some kind of treatment to offer. Autism, a disorder that can impair socialization, communication, learning and behavior, affects one in 88 children in the U.S. It is diagnosed more often today than in previous generations, Pelphrey explained, owing to more standardized diagnostic methods and … Continue reading →