(PHILADELPHIA) -- Injecting epilepsy patients with medication via an autoinjector -- similar to the EpiPens used to treat serious allergic reactions -- works more quickly to stop seizures than delivery of a drug via IV on board ambulances, according to a national study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Results of the trial, which included investigators from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, also indicates that patients who receive the autoinjection are less likely to require hospitalization after treatment in emergency rooms. The Rapid Anticonvulsant Medication Prior to Arrival Trial (RAMPART) study provides a roadmap for improving and speeding treatment of status epilepticus -- severe seizure activity -- which causes 55,000 deaths each year. "Status epilepticus is a life-threatening neurological emergency that requires immediate treatment, even before patients reach the hospital. With every minute the seizure continues, it becomes harder to stop, increasing the possibility of brain damage," said Jill Baren, MD, MBE, chair of the department of Emergency Medicine and principal investigator for the greater Philadelphia-Southern New Jersey Neurological Treatment Trials Network, which includes the community of York, PA, where the local portion of the study was performed. "This study establishes that … Continue reading →

February 17, 2012 · The House finance committee considered an amendment for House Bill 4260, which determines insurance coverage for autism spectrum disorders. Kanawha County Democrat Mark Hunt has a child with autism. He’s a cosponsor on the bill. Hunt said he just wants to see the bill through.    “This bill is not so much for my child; this bill is more for other people’s children,” Hunt said. “Knowing that early intervention does make an extreme difference, I feel like we’re fiddling while children are actually burning out there. Every year we delay the full implementation of this bill, a whole generation of children is being lost.”   The bill provides $30,000 a year for behavioral therapy for three years before dropping down to $2,000 a month.  Finance committee counsel Jennelle Jones says the bill clarifies exactly what that $30,000 should cover.   “The problem was when it left the House the $30,000 cap applied to ABA therapy,” Jones told lawmakers. “Then, the Senate amended in language that said the $30,000 cap applied to all treatment for autism which could include a drug regimen or other types of treatment that would be different from ABA therapy.”   The fiscal note for the … Continue reading →

Public release date: 17-Feb-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Jane E. Rubinstein jrubinstein@rubenstein.com 212-843-8287 Autism Speaks New York, N.Y. -- The changes in brain development that underlie autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be detectable in children as young as 6 months, according to research reported online today in the American Journal of Psychiatry. While core behaviors associated with ASD (impaired social communication and repetitive behaviors) tend to be identified after a baby's first birthday, researchers found clear differences in brain communication pathways as early as 6 months in infants who later received a definitive diagnosis of ASD. As part of the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS), senior author Joe Piven, M.D., director of the University of North Carolina's Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities in Chapel Hill, and his colleagues studied early brain and behavior development in 92 infants. These infants had older siblings on the autism spectrum and, so, were at elevated risk of developing ASD themselves. "These results offer promise that we may one day be able to identify infants at risk for autism before the behavioral symptoms are present," says study co-author Geri Dawson, Ph.D., Autism Speaks chief science officer. "The goal," she adds, "is to … Continue reading →

THURSDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Average medical costs for a stroke patient with language impairment (aphasia) are more than $1,700 higher in the first year after stroke than for a patient without aphasia, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed the medical records of 3,200 Medicare patients in South Carolina who had an ischemic (blocked blood flow to the brain) stroke in 2004. They found that 12 percent of them had trouble speaking because of the stroke. Help in regaining lost speech drive up medical bills, the researchers found. Medicare payments averaged over $20,700 for those with aphasia compared to about $18,700 for those without these language difficulties, an 8.5 percent difference. The researchers also found that patients with aphasia were older and suffered more severe strokes, stayed in health care facilities 6.5 percent longer than those without impaired language, and had higher rates of illness and death. The study appears Feb. 16 in the journal Stroke. Each year in the United States, strokes leave about 100,000 people with language impairment. "These findings are important because dramatic changes are occurring in health care reimbursement, specifically imposed caps on Medicare reimbursement for outpatient speech language pathology and physical therapy," study lead … Continue reading →