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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Autism risk increases with air pollution exposure, study finds

Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy may increase the likelihood a child will develop autism, according to a new study. "Although additional research to replicate these findings is needed, the public health implications of these findings are large because air pollution exposure is common and may have lasting neurological effects,"

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Monday, November 19, 2012

Complementary and alternative medicine use in a large pediatric autismsample

The journal Pediatrics has a large number of autism related articles in a recent supplement. One of these covers a topic discussed a great deal by parent groups online: alternative medical approaches to the treatment of autism. In Complementary and alternative medicine use in a large pediatric autism sample, James Perrin (this one of his five articles in the Supplement; Dr. Perrin is the president elect of the American Academy of Pediatrics) and his coauthors use the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) to review parent report of use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in regards to autism. The authors find that while CAM is used by a significant minority of parents, it is a minority: 28% (896 out of 3173). Special diets are the most common (548 respondents, 17%). Various methodologies are listed below: Characteristic NAny CAM 896Special diets 548Gluten-free diet 249Casein-free diet 289No processed sugars 69No sugars or salicylates 28Feingold diet 14Other specified special diet 293Other CAM 643Other vitamin supplements 413Probiotics 274Essential fatty acids 171Digestive enzymes 116Higher dosing vitamin B6 and magnesium 99Chiropractic 77Amino acids 59Antifungals 58Glutathione 33Chelation 19Hyperbaric oxygen 12Acupuncture 10Sulfation 7Other specified CAM 173

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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Positively Autism

Autism Training | Teaching Materials | Tutorials

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Flu During Pregnancy Linked to Autism, Says Survey

Mothers who reported having the flu during pregnancy were at least twice as likely to have a child with autism as those who did not report having the flu, according to new survey results from a Danish study. While the study does not suggest that high fever -- or flu -- causes autism, many experts said the correlation reinforces recommendations that all pregnant women should get the flu shot.

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Melatonin improves sleep in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Melatonin increases the length of time spent asleep and reduces the time it takes to get to sleep for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, compared with placebo, show study results published in the British Medical Journal. The phase III trial took place over 12 weeks among children aged 3 to 15 years with conditions including autism, epilepsy, and developmental delay, note the researchers. Treatment doses were escalated to a total of 12.0 mg from the initial 0.5 mg if participants continued to fit the criteria for sleep disorder, defined as failing to fall asleep within an hour of bedtime in three nights out of five, or achieving less than 6 hours per night of continuous sleep over the previous 5 months.

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Friday, November 2, 2012

Autism Tough to Spot Before 6 Months of Age, Study Suggests

The development of 6-month-old babies who are diagnosed with autism in toddlerhood is very similar to that of children without autism, a new study suggests. "We always thought that if a child had autism, we would be able to tell during infancy . . . but we were wrong," said study author Rebecca Landa, director of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. "At 6 months of age, babies who end up with autism by age 3 are scoring similarly on tests to children who didn't have autism." The study also sheds doubt on the notion that cases of autism that are spotted early are necessarily more severe.

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