Autism
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Blinking May Yield Clues About Autism
WebMD: Women: Pregnancy &bull Dec 12, 2011Dec. 12, 2011 -- When and why children blink may provide researchers some important clues about how children with autism process and take in information. Although it may not feel like it, blinking interrupts what we are watching. If a… Full Story »
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Blink Patterns May Be a Window Into Autistic Mind (HealthDay)
Yahoo! News: Parenting/Kids News &bull Dec 12, 2011
MONDAY, Dec. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Toddlers with autism show different blink patterns than other children, a finding that researchers say may provide a clue to the way people with autism process what they see. Blinking is largely an involuntary process that helps keep the eyes hydrated and protected. During that split second that your eyes are closed, you are temporarily blinded. And throughout a typical day,… Full Story »
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Mason Disick and Other Celebrity Tots Who Eat Alternative Diets
US Magazine Moms & Babies News &bull Dec 1, 2011
Celebs are known to go on fad diets to get red carpet ready in an instant -- Dukan diet anyone? But these days, it's their kids who are following the unusual eating habits. More than just picky eaters, these lil ones are removing wheat, nuts, and meat from their menus due to allergies and health. Take a look at seven Tinseltown tots moving beyond the children's menu and eating differently than other children in the cafeteria. Mason Disick: Nut FreeWhen Mason was 11 months old, Kourtney Kardashian found herself rushing her tot… Full Story »
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Why having a big family is good for your heart
Gurgle &bull Nov 30, 2011
A new study from the University of California has found that having four or more children can protect a woman's heart. They found women who experience four or more pregnancies are less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who never have a baby.The study of nearly 1,300 post-menopausal women from south California… Full Story »
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Rise in autism 'may be linked to clever parents'
The Daily Telegraph: Health: Women's &bull Nov 21, 2011
A team of researchers at Cambridge University is exploring the link between high-achieving parents, such as engineers, scientists and computer programmers, and the development of their children. Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at the university, said… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Autism
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Problems with pre-birth brain growth linked to autism
She Knows: Pregnancy & Baby Blog &bull Nov 16, 2011
In the ongoing quest to find a cause for autism, researchers have left few paths uncovered, and yet we still aren't sure why some children develop autism while others remain immune. Now a new study partly funded by the National… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Autism
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Is empathy in our genes?
CNN: Women's Health &bull Nov 15, 2011
Previous studies have linked several personality traits to variations in this gene, which acts as a docking station (or receptor) for the brain chemical oxytocin -- often referred to as the "love hormone" because it plays a role in social behaviors such as bonding, empathy, and anxiety. People who have two "G" variants of this oxytocin… Full Story »
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Body Language Reveals 'Empathy Gene'
WebMD: Women: Pregnancy &bull Nov 14, 2011People with the "prosocial" gene displayed more caring and trusting nonverbal behaviors, like head nods, smiles, and eye contact, while listening to a loved one describe a time of suffering. They were also rated as more empathetic by strangers who… Full Story »
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Autism linked with excess of neurons in prefrontal cortex
Science Daily: Pregnancy and Childbirth News &bull Nov 9, 2011
The scientists discovered a 67 percent excess of cortical cells -- a type of brain cell only made before birth -- in children with autism. The findings suggest that the disorder may arise from prenatal processes gone awry, according to lead researcher Eric Courchesne, PhD, professor of neurosciences at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Autism Center of Excellence. Relying on meticulous, direct cell counting, the study -- to be published November 9 by the Journal of the American Medical Society (JAMA) and funded in part by the National Institutes of Health -- confirms a… Full Story »
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Extra brain cells may be key to autism: study (Reuters)
Yahoo! News: Parenting/Kids News &bull Nov 8, 2011
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Children with autism appear to have too many cells in a key area of the brain needed for communication and emotional development, helping to explain why young children with autism often develop brains that are larger than… Full Story »
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Autistic Children May Have Too Many Brain Cells (HealthDay)
Yahoo! News: Parenting/Kids News &bull Nov 8, 2011
TUESDAY, Nov. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The brains of autistic children have far more neurons in the prefrontal cortex than the brains of kids without autism, finds a new study that could advance research into the disorder. For the first time, we have the potential to understand why autism gets started," said study author Eric Courchesne, a professor of neurosciences at the… Full Story »
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Autistic Kids May Have More Cells in Some Brain Areas
WebMD: Women: Pregnancy &bull Nov 8, 2011The small study found that boys with autism had an average of 67% more brain cells called neurons in the prefrontal cortex region of their brains, when compared with children who did not have autism. Located in the front of the… Full Story »
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Where a Child Is Tested May Affect Autism Diagnosis (HealthDay)
Yahoo! News: Parenting/Kids News &bull Nov 7, 2011
MONDAY, Nov. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Whether health professionals diagnose a child with autism or with a milder form of the neurodevelopmental disorder such as Asperger syndrome isn't determined only by the child's symptoms, but by where the child is assessed, a new study finds. Researchers found wide variability at autism centers across the nation in the criteria health professionals used to determine whether a child should be diagnosed… Full Story »
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Could zinc help prevent autism?
The Daily Telegraph: Health: Women's &bull Nov 3, 2011
Japanese researchers who took hair samples from nearly 2,000 diagnosed autistic children, aged from birth to three, found almost half of them had a zinc deficiency. They wrote in the journal Scientific Reports: "These findings suggest that infantile zinc deficiency… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Autism
- Zinc
- Childbirth
- Birth
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Brain Development In Rats Stunted By Perinatal Antidepressant
Pregnancy News & Obstetrics News from Medical News Today &bull Oct 26, 2011
Rats exposed to an antidepressant just before and after birth showed substantial brain abnormalities and behaviors, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. After receiving citalopram, a serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), during this critical period, long-distance connections between the two hemispheres of the brain showed stunted growth and degeneration. The animals also became excessively fearful when faced with new situations… Full Story »
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Perinatal antidepressant stunts brain development in rats; Miswired brain circuitry traced to early exposure
Science Daily: Pregnancy and Childbirth News &bull Oct 24, 2011
After receiving citalopram, a serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), during this critical period, long-distance connections between the two hemispheres of the brain showed stunted growth and degeneration. The animals also became excessively fearful when faced with new situations and failed to play normally with peers -- behaviors reminiscent of novelty avoidance and social impairments seen in autism. The abnormalities were more pronounced in male than female rats, just as autism affects 3-4 times more boys than girls. Our findings underscore the importance of balanced serotonin levels -- not too high or low -- for proper brain maturation," explained Rick Lin, Ph.D.,… Full Story »
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Genetic variant and autoantibodies linked to having a child with autism
Science Daily: Pregnancy and Childbirth News &bull Oct 20, 2011
The finding is the first to demonstrate a genetic mechanism at play in the development of the neurodevelopmental disorder among some children -- offering the possibility of a genetic test for some women at risk for having a child with autism, said Judy Van de Water, an immunologist and the study's co-principal investigator. Association of a MET genetic variant with autism-associated maternal autoantibodies to fetal brain proteins and cytokine expression," is published online October 20 in the journal Translational Psychiatry, a Nature publication. Our study gives strong support for the idea that, in at least some cases, autism results from… Full Story »
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Preemies have a higher risk of autism: study (Reuters)
Yahoo! News: Parenting/Kids News &bull Oct 17, 2011
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The risk of developing autism among children who were born prematurely is five times greater than among kids born after a full-term pregnancy, according to a new study. The new study, published in the journal… Full Story »
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Low birth weight linked to autism
CNN: Women's Health &bull Oct 17, 2011
Beginning in 1984, researchers followed 1,105 babies who weighed less than 4 pounds, 7 ounces at birth, and they found that 5% of them met the criteria for ASD by age 21 -- a rate roughly five times higher than that in the general population of children. The rate seen… Full Story »
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Identical Twins Genetically Change
Pregnancy Weekly Blog &bull Oct 14, 2011
If you've ever met identical twins, you've probably learned that even though they look exactly the same, they oftentimes have very different personalities. Scientists have discovered why this phenomena is often true and shed some light on how the environment… Full Story »
