Children who receive a combination of melatonin and behavioral therapy fall asleep faster and have better sleep quality than those who get either treatment alone or those on placebo, according to a study published 22 May in the Journal of Sleep Research.
A small clinical trial at the Seaver Autism Center at Mount Sinai aims to test whether an existing drug, the growth factor IGF-1, will help treat some of the core symptoms of autism in children with a specific genetic mutation.
Health records of more than 14,000 people with autism show that they are more likely than the general population to suffer from a number of conditions, including immune disorders and gut problems. The results, published 12 April in PLoS One, suggest that doctors should carefully monitor their overall health.
Individuals with autism may belong to one of four groups with discrete sets of symptoms, the most distinct of which includes immune system abnormalities accompanied by sleep problems and sensory sensitivity. The results were published in the April issue of Autism Research.
The characteristics, interactions and roles of autism-associated genes in the fruit flies’ brain will help guide how we think about the same genes in humans, says Ralph Greenspan.
Scanning children’s brains while they sleep is a viable alternative to sedation for infants and toddlers across the entire autism spectrum, according to a study published in the January issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Blood from individuals with autism could help researchers identify biomarkers to diagnose the disorder and learn more about related symptoms, such as gastrointestinal complaints, says molecular biologist Valerie Hu.
A subset of people with autism have genetic and biochemical abnormalities in a sleep-related enzyme, according to research presented Friday at a satellite conference of the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
A new review suggests that sleep problems in neurodevelopmental disorders don’t just reflect underlying weaknesses in neural circuitry; they actively intensify these deficits.
Many toddlers with autism have weak connections between the two sides of the brain, according to the first-ever analysis of brain connections in young children with the disorder, published 23 June in Neuron.