Short NEWS Bites
Vaccines and Autism: A Tale of Shifting
Hypotheses
Jeffrey S. Gerber and Paul A. Offit
Division of Infectious Diseases, The Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Clinical Infectious Diseases 2009;48:456–461
© 2009 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
All rights reserved.
1058-4838/2009/4804-0015$15.00
DOI: 10.1086/596476
Although child vaccination rates remain high, some
parental concern persists that vaccines might cause
autism. Three specific hypotheses have been proposed:
(1) the combination measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes
autism by damaging the intestinal lining, which allows
the entrance of encephalopathic proteins; (2) thimerosal,
an ethylmercury-containing preservative in some vaccines,
is toxic to the central nervous system; and (3) the
simultaneous administration of multiple vaccines overwhelms
or weakens the immune system. We will discuss the genesis
of each of these theories and review the relevant epidemiological
evidence.
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/596476
Download
full pdf article
Brain Waves Show Sound Processing Abnormalities
In Autistic Children
Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 01 Dec 2008 - 4:00 PST
Abnormalities in auditory and language processing may
be evaluated in children with autism spectrum disorder
by using magnetoencephalography (MEG), according to
a study presented today at the annual meeting of the
Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131310.php
Brain's Magnetic Fields Reveal Language
Delays In Autism
Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience; Radiology
/ Nuclear Medicine
Article Date: 01 Dec 2008 - 2:00 PST
Faint magnetic signals from brain activity in children
with autism show that those children process sound and
language differently from non-autistic children. Identifying
and classifying these brain response patterns may allow
researchers to more accurately diagnose autism and possibly
aid in developing more effective treatments for the
developmental disorder.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131293.php
Brain Imaging Study Of Infants
At Risk For Autism Expanded By UNC
Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound; Pediatrics
/ Children's Health
Article Date: 27 Nov 2008 - 2:00 PST
A study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill researchers using brain imaging of infants to examine
changes in their brains and behavior that may mark the
onset of autistic symptoms is being substantially expanded
after receiving an additional $3.25 million in funding.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/131013.php
Landmark Study: Autism Recognized
as Medically Treatable
The journey continues. We all know there is no medically
proven cure for autism, there is no pill our kids can
take, no surgery, no proven protocols. It's the survival
of the fittest disease and every family does the best
we can from therapeutic interventions, to oxygen chambers
to special diets; we are all trying to find an answer
for our child or children. We're all waiting for better
answers and hoping it will not be too late for our kids.
Scientific communities now frequently report on the
new and exciting methods of early detection and treatment
for the 1-3 kiddo's. This is progress, but there is
not so much about how to help the bigger kids and adults.
Nicky is ten and I don't hear as much about how to help
kids his age.
http://autismdaybyday.blogspot.com/2008/12/landmark-study-autism-recognized-as.html
Setback In Child Development Could Be
Signs Of Regressive Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health; Psychology
/ Psychiatry; Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 10 Dec 2008 - 5:00 PST
We all know how infants can act up during their terrible
twos, but when these behaviors are accompanied by developmental
setbacks, they could point to something more serious.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/132505.php
Weird, Wild And Wonderful - A Fathers
Devotion For His Autistic Son
Main Category: Autism
Article Date: 10 Dec 2008 - 1:00 PST
Weird, Wild and Wonderful A Naturally Autistic Tale
Stuart Nicklen
29 January 2009
£17.99 Hardback
A practical and inspirational book for parents of children
with severe autism.
Laurence is a 'child out of time'.
Born with severe autism, he is very limited in his responses
to the outside world, yet needs to somehow learn how
to survive in it.
His devoted father, Stuart Nicklen, amid a failing
marriage, makes the effort to break through into Laurence's
primitive world, and this leads the pair, along with
Laurence's little sister Bianca, to Florida, where he
swims with the dolphins and experiences a miraculous
developmental awakening.
Full of practical advice, these inspirational pages
are a testament to a father's undying love and will
also be an inspirational lifeline for many parents who
find themselves in a similar situation.
For the last five years Stuart Nicklen has assisted
on the National Autistic Society's Parent 2 Parent helpline
and currently works with profoundly autistic children
in a special school.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/132413.php
Brain Deletion Of FK506-Binding Protein
Enhances Repetitive Behaviors In Mice
Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Autism; Schizophrenia; Huntingtons
Disease
Article Date: 11 Dec 2008 - 6:00 PST
A new study reveals a link between dysregulation of
a common signaling pathway and repetitive behaviors
similar to those associated with multiple neurological
and neurodegenerative disorders including, autism spectrum
disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia,
and Huntington's disease. The research, published by
Cell Press in the December 11th issue of the journal
Neuron, identifies a critical role for a molecule linked
to immunosuppression in learning, memory, and repetitive
behavior and may lead to the development of new treatments
for perseverative behaviors.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/132693.php
Girls' Autism Signs Miss Early Diagnosis
By Emma Downs for The Journal Gazette.
is.gd/bHuc
There’s nothing unusual about Emily Disher. Not
at first glance, anyway.
In many ways, the Fort Wayne 12-year-old is a typical
sixth-grader. She does her homework. She plays with
her Wii (probably more than her parents wish she would).
And, of course, she worries. Usually about ordinary
stuff. Grades, friends, fitting in.
But spend a little more time with Emily, and you begin
to notice there is something different about her.
She stands a little too close, for instance. If she’s
looked at for too long, she gets angry. And when she
is excited or happy, she rocks – rhythmically bending
back and forth and repeatedly putting her hand to her
lips and yanking it away again.
http://www.sarnet.org/lib/todaySAR.12-175.htm
A Father's Age Is Associated With Decreased
Social Abilities In Boys
Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: Men's health; Pediatrics / Children's
Health; Schizophrenia
Article Date: 16 Dec 2008 - 3:00 PST
New studies from Tel Aviv University suggest that waiting
until a man can give his son "all the advantages"
may have a disadvantage, too.
Tel Aviv University researchers found in several consecutive
studies that older dads are more likely to have boys
with autism and lower IQs. Most recently, they found
that the older a father's age, the greater the chance
that his son will display poor social abilities as a
teen. Dr. Mark Weiser from TAU's Sackler School of Medicine
and his team of researchers are now studying what causes
this phenomenon
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133122.php
UNC Expands Brain Imaging Study Of Infants
At Risk For Autism
Main Category: Autism
Article Date: 09 Dec 2008 - 1:00 PST
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill have been awarded an additional $3.25 million
in funding to substantially expand an ongoing study
that uses infant brain imaging to examine the brain
and behavioral changes in very early life that may mark
the onset of autistic symptoms.
"This is the first study that will prospectively
measure, in the same group of infants, both the onset
of autistic symptoms and brain enlargement that co-occurs
at the end of the first year of life in children with
autism," said Joseph Piven, M.D., the study's principal
investigator and director of the Carolina Institute
for Developmental Disabilities.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/132183.php
Autism And Schizophrenia Share Common
Origin
Main Category: Autism
Also Included In: Schizophrenia; Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 17 Dec 2008 - 5:00 PST
Schizophrenia and autism probably share a common origin,
hypothesises Dutch researcher Annemie Ploeger following
an extensive literature study. The developmental psychologist
demonstrated that both mental diseases have similar
physical abnormalities which are formed during the first
month of pregnancy.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/133293.php
Fruit Flies Help Scientists Better Understand
the Cause of Autism
September 06, 2007 by
Regina Sass
Communication between nerve cells, called neurons, is
essential for humans to complete even the simplest physical
or mental tasks, putting one foot in front of another
or remembering where we put something for instance.
They communicate with each other by contacting at
Fruit Flies Help Scientists Better Understand the Cause
of Autism
points call synapses. When the connections become damaged,
communication stops and the messages never get delivered.
New research from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has discovered that
there is a protein called neurexin that must be there
or else the nerve cell connections do not form and/or
function properly.
The researchers worked with Drosophila fruit flies
and they hope the results will enable scientists to
gain a better understanding of autism spectrum disorders.
It is already known that human newrexin are a genetic
risk factor for autism.
There was previous research done using mice, but that
did not produce results. Mice have a total of three
different genes code that produce certain neurexin proteins.
When one of them was deleted, there were no effects
and when all three were removed, the mice died. Fruit
flies, on the other hand, only have one gene for neurexin.
When they deleted the gene, the flies survived but only
barely
But fruit flies have only one gene for neurexin, and
when Bhat and colleagues deleted the gene, the flies
survived - barely and with a damaged nervous system.
The first thing the noticed was that the flies had trouble
moving. The researchers took a look at the synapses
of the flies and they found that they were missing half
of them. What was left were deformed, making it impossible
for them to send out all the chemical signals that are
necessary.
The next step in the research, which is already underway,
is going to be to find out what proteins neurexin binds
to as well as how they interact with each other and
what the exact order of events is that result in the
successful organization of the synapses within the nerve
cells. They hope that eventually the research will lead
to understanding the role of neurexin in functions like
learning and memory and thereby finally understanding
how defects in this one protein cause disorders such
as autism.
The senior author of the study is Dr. Manzoor Bhat,
who is an associate professor of cell and molecular
physiology in the UNC School of Medicine and a member
of the UNC Neuroscience Center and the UNC Neurodevelopmental
Disorders Research Center. The research was led by Jingjun
Li, a graduate student in neurobiology in the UNC School
of Medicine. Co-authors include James Ashley and Vivian
Budnik from the University of Massachusetts Medical
School.
The research was funded in part by grants from the
National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National
Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the
National Institute of Mental Health and funds from the
state of North Carolina.
Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://www.newswise.com/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/370659/fruit_flies_help_scientists_better.html?singlepage=true&cat=5
24th May, 2008.
Vaccines-Autism Journalist To Speak At Houses Of Parliament.
U.S. Journalist David Kirby, author of the award winning
book 'Evidence of Harm, Mercury in Vaccines and the
Autism Epidemic - A Medical Controversy', will give
a special briefing on this debate at the Houses of Parliamaent
in London on Wednesday, 4th June, 2008, at 3.30p.m.
David Kirby will speak about recent legal, political
and scientific developments in the United States in
the ongoing vaccine-autism controversy. Sponsord by
Lord Robin Granville Hodgson, Baron Hodgson of Shropshire,
the briefing is open to Peers in the House of Lords,
Members of Parliament, their Staff, members of the Media,
and Invited Guests.
David Kirby UK Visit Press Release
Information Provided:
David Kirby To Speak On Autism One Radio - UK Visit
Tuesday, May 27, 12:00 noon edt. Bookmark this slot.
David Kirby - Free UK Lecture On Vaccines-Autism Link
Wednesday 4 June, 6.30pm-10pm
David Kirby - UK Q & A Book Signing Event
Friday 6 June, 4.00pm-7.00pm - Free RSVP Event
READ THE NEWS ON ONE CLICK
http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk
21st May, 2008.
Research Tool Can Detect Autism At 9 Months of Age.
The ability to detect autism in children as young as
nine months of age is on the horizon, according to researchers
at McMaster University.
For further information, please contact schafer@sprynet.com
20th May, 2008.
A Link Between Thimerosal Vaccines And Autism
By Ed Silverman for Pharmalot,
A new epidemiological study suggests that a link exists
between vaccines containing Thimerosal and several neurodevelopmental
disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
For further information, please contact schafer@sprynet.com
19th May, 2008.
Autism Study Links Repetitive Behavior Patterns to Brain
Function Difference
Media-Newswire.com - Individuals with autism who exhibit
repetitive behavior show reduced activity in brain regions
normally responsible for attention and executive function,
the processes that help organize our actions and behaviors,
researchers at Hofstra, Duke, and the University of
North Carolina report in the current issue of the journal
Biological Psychiatry.
For further information, please contact schafer@sprynet.com
15th May, 2008.
Discovery Of Small RNAs That Regulate Gene Expression
And Protect The Genome
The list of short RNAs grows longerRNA is best known
as a working copy of the DNA sequence of genes. In this
role, it's a carrier of the genes' instructions to the
cell, which manufactures proteins according to information
the RNA molecule.
For further information, please contact newsalerts@medicalnewstoday.com
16th May, 2008.
Sick Monkeys: Research Links Vaccine Load, Autism Signs,
By Dan Olmsted
The first research project to examine effects of the
total vaccine load received by children in the 1990s
has found autism-like signs and symptoms in infant monkeys
vaccinated the same way. The study's principal investigator,
Laura Hewtson from the University of Pittsburgh, reports
developmental delays, behavior problems and brain changes
in macaque monkeys that mimic 'certain neurological
abnormalities of autism.'
For further information, please contact schafer@sprynet.com
12th May, 2008.
Doctor Plans Novel Treatment For Autism
by Timothy McNulsty, Pittsburg Post-Gazette
www.post-gazette.com/08132/880873-52.stm
Dr. Scott Faber talks about the plan for an enviornmental
pediatric room at the Children's Institute in Squirrel
Hill.
With childhood autism cases skyrocketing and no cure
in sight, doctors at the Children's Institute in Squirrel
Hill are planning on a Hail Mary pass approach to the
mysterious disorder -- housing young patients for weeks
at a time in a pollustant-free 'clean room,' in an attempt
to detoxify their bodies.
For further information, please contact schafer@sprynet.com
12th May, 2008.
Ground breaking International Effort Begins Search For
Causes of Autism.
http:
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/106741
9th May, 2008.
University Of Leicester To Lead Audit Of Adults With
Autism, UK
The University of Leicester is leadingon a national
study to calculate the number of adults with autism,
it has been announced. Professor Terry Bugh, Professor
of Psychiatry in the Department of Health Sciences is
spearheading the study in conjunction with a team of
research experts including the National Centre for Social
Research (NatCen), Research Autism and Professor Simon
Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Centre.
For further information, please contact newsalert@medicalnewstoday.com
Department Of Health Announces Adult Autism Strategy
UKCare services Minister Ivan Lewis announced A£5000,000
for Government research into the numbers of adults with
autism and their specific transiitions needs. This prevalence
study will inform the first ever Government strategy
on adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome, due to
be published next year.
For further information, please contact newsalert@medicalnewstoday.com
13th June, 2008.
Hidden CDC Data Confirms Vaccine-Autism Link.
A new publisshed study in the Journal of the Neurological
Sciences, the official journal of the World Federation
of Neurology, links mercury from the Thimerosal in vaccines
with Autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
This study represents six years worth of effort by independent
researchers to gain access to hidden US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data in the Vaccine
Safety Datalink (VSD).
CoMed Press Release
For further information:
http://www.theoneclickgroup.co.uk
13th June, 2008.
'Faulty Brain Connections May Be Responsible For Social
Impairments in Autism
New evidence shows that the brain of adults with Autism
are 'wired' differently from people without the disorder,
and this abnormal pattern of connectivity may be responsible
for the social impairments that are characteristic of
Autism.
For further information:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsalerts.php
11th June, 2008.
Diagnosing Autism, Asperger's
Colorado State University researchers are looking for
neurological clues to the cause of sensory processing
deificits, perhaps giving hope to parents worrying about
their children's diagnosis of Autism, Asperger Syndrome,
attention deificit hyperactive disorder or other neurodevelopmental
disorders.
For further information:
www.sarnet.org/frm/forsar.hstm
8th June, 2008.
Oxigen For Autism
Ivenhoe Newswire - There's no cure for Autism and treatments
are expermental at best: but one new treatment is bringing
hope to families desperate for any improvement they can
get.
For further information:
www.sarnet.org/frm/forsar.hstm
9th June, 2008.
Autism Risk Higher for Preterm And Low Birthweight girls.
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/1096.php
23rd June, 2008.
Autistic Man, who is also a transplant recipient,
found in Woods.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112354.php
UCLA Mouse STudy Offiers Hope for Correcting How
Autism Disrupts The Brain.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112354.php
Market America Announces Plans To Launch Vitamins
For Children With Autism.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112234.php
24th June, 2008.
Postech May Unlock A Secret to Autism
A team of researchers at Korea's Phang University of
Science and Technology (Postech) has found new clues
in understanding the development process for Autism,
a breain disorder that impairs social interaction and
communication skills.
For further information:
schafer@sprynet.com
26th June, 2008.
NIMH Funds Pitt Researchers To Find Best Treatments
for Children With Autism and ADHD Symptoms.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC have
received $3 million from the National Insitute of Mental
Health to conduct a national study of the treatment
of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in
children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
For further information:
Newsalerts@medicalnewstoday.com
30th June, 2008.
Low Birth Weight, Prematurity May Raise Autism Risk
by Anne Harding.
Reuter Health - Low birth weight and preterm delivery
increase the likelihood that a child will be Autistic,
but girls being at particular risk, researchers from
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
report.
For further information:
schafer@sprynet.com
