New research by Dr. Mark Weiser of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center has revealed that ASD appears share a root cause with other mental illnesses, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. At first glance, schizophrenia and autism may look like completely different illnesses, he says. But closer inspection reveals many common traits, including social and cognitive dysfunction and a decreased ability to lead normal lives and function in the real world.
Studying extensive databases in Israel and Sweden, the researchers discovered that the two illnesses had a genetic link, representing a heightened risk within families. They found that people who have a schizophrenic sibling are 12 times more likely to have autism than those with no schizophrenia in the family. The presence of bipolar disorder in a sibling showed a similar pattern of association, but to a lesser degree.More @ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121023124524.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fmind_brain%2Fautism+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Mind+%26+Brain+News+--+Autism%29
Two new entries on The Big List of S*%# Linked to Autism today. One that sounds like it makes some sense and another that sounds like some researchers with too much time on their hands. First, another new study where scientists are able to replicate autism symptoms and an over abundance of serotonin, which is common to kids with autism.More @ http://autismparents.net/the-big-list-of-s-linked-to-autism-curvy-women-serotonin-transporters/
Serotonin is a brain chemical that carries signals across the synapse, or gap between nerve cells. The supply of serotonin is regulated by the serotonin transporter (SERT). In 2005, a team of Vanderbilt researchers led by Randy Blakely and James Sutcliffe identified rare genetic variations in children with ASD that disrupt SERT function.
In a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers report the creation of a mouse model that expressed the most common of these variations.
The change is a very small one in biochemical terms, yet it appears to cause SERT in the brain to go into overdrive and restrict the availability of serotonin at synapses.
"The SERT protein in the brain of our mice appears to exhibit the exaggerated function and lack of regulation we saw using cell models," said Blakely, director of the Vanderbilt Silvio O. Conte Center for Neuroscience Research.
"Remarkably, these mice show changes in social behavior and communication from early life that may parallel aspects of ASD," noted first author Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, assistant professor of psychiatry, pediatrics and pharmacology.
The researchers conclude that a lack of serotonin during development may lead to long-standing changes in the way the brain is wired.
More @ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120320115625.htm
A brand new study confirms the findings of a preliminary study that was released in 2011. The new study shows that the income of a family that includes a child who has autism is significantly less than the income of families who don't. This is due to a number of factors.
In 2011, there was a preliminary study that used data that came from a survey done by the United States government's Medical Expenditures Panel. Researchers looked at information about families that included children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), about families who had children with other types of chronic health conditions, (such as asthma, ADHD, or cerebral palsy), and about families that had healthy children.
More @ http://special-needs.families.com/blog/study-confirms-financial-impact-of-autism#
ScienceDaily (Feb. 10, 2012) — Older maternal and paternal age are jointly associated with having a child with autism, according to a recently published study led by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)."The researchers compared 68 age- and sex-matched, case-control pairs from their research in Jamaica, where UTHealth has been studying autism in collaboration with The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica.
"This should put to rest discrepancies in previous studies showing that just maternal age or just paternal age are linked to having a child with autism," said Mohammad Hossein Rahbar, Ph.D., principal investigator and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at The University of Texas School of Public Health, part of UTHealth."
A new study has revealed that those conceived in winter have up to a16 per cent greater risk of autism than those conceived in July.
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