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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: antidepressants

November 2011

Clinical research: Overall health a concern for autism

by  /  2 November 2011

Adults with autism are more likely than controls to have certain chronic health conditions, such as high cholesterol, but are less likely to treat these with prescription drugs.

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August 2011

Clinical research: Drug increases communication while rats play

by  /  5 August 2011

Giving GLYX-13, a drug that targets an autism-associated brain pathway, to rats bred to be less social increases how much they communicate while playing.

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July 2011

Clinical research: Antidepressant use in pregnancy linked to autism

by  /  22 July 2011

Taking antidepressants while pregnant may slightly increase the risk of having a child with autism, reports a study published 4 July in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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Experts critique statistics, conclusion of autism twin study

by  /  14 July 2011

A new study of twins proposes the controversial claim that environmental influences during early development are just as, if not more, important than genetics. But the findings are not substantially different from those of previous twin studies, however, and some experts are critical of the study’s statistics.

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April 2011

Analysis finds weak evidence for most autism treatments

by  /  25 April 2011

Only a small fraction of autism therapies are supported by robust scientific evidence, according to three reviews published in the May issue of Pediatrics.

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January 2011

Mind games

by  /  7 January 2011

As more drugs enter clinical trials for fragile X syndrome and soon, hopefully, for autism, the placebo effect will become an important consideration.

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August 2010

Kevin Pelphrey: Charting the course of the social brain

by  /  17 August 2010

With robust training in developmental psychology and a techie’s fervor for new tools, Kevin Pelphrey is systematically investigating how the brain changes during development — starting in infants as young as 6 weeks old.

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July 2010

Promising treatment

by  /  29 July 2010

Families affected by fragile X syndrome can let out a modest cheer this week: the largest-ever randomized trial of a drug to treat the syndrome has just cleared its second phase.

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November 2008

Pathways to plasticity

by  /  18 November 2008

The molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity ― the ability of neurons to change the strength of their connections ― can vary across different inhibitory neural circuits as much as they can vary across excitatory neural circuits, according to research presented this morning at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.

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March 2008

Research clarifies serotonin’s link to autism

by  /  13 March 2008

Serotonin is most commonly talked about in association with depression and anxiety. But for nearly 50 years, hyperserotonemia ― an elevated level of blood serotonin ― has been noted in roughly a third of autism cases.

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