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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Treatments

Efforts to ease the symptoms of autism are beginning to ramp up, with promising candidates in various stages of testing.

September 2022

Oxytocin lessons from autism-linked syndromes: A chat with Christian Schaaf and Ferdinand Althammer

by  /  7 September 2022

Oxytocin therapies have failed to consistently benefit autistic people, but their effects in people with two autism-linked conditions may yield new insights, experts argue.

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An adult administers a medication to an infant.

Experimental drug shows promise for autism-linked syndromes

by  /  2 September 2022

The drug quells seizures in children with Dravet syndrome or Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

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A mother and child stand, dwarfed by giant alphabet blocks spelling ABA.

Applied behavior analysis and autism: Flawed application of a proven science

by  /  1 September 2022

The field of ABA needs more compassion and individualization.

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August 2022
A pregnant woman and a doctor, both masked, have a conversation in an examination room.

U.K. health authority investigates epilepsy drug’s link to autism

by  /  30 August 2022

Prenatal exposure to topiramate increases a child’s autism odds, according to the study that prompted the inquiry, but experts caution that pregnant people with epilepsy have few other options for controlling seizures.

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Promising preclinical results prompt Angelman therapy trial

by  /  25 August 2022

Roche’s gene therapy drug Rugonersen boosts expression of the protein missing in the syndrome in mice and monkeys, but whether it works in people remains to be seen.

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A young boy puts plates on a dining table.

Yen for routine seeds anxiety in autistic children

by  /  16 August 2022

Interventions that moderate a need for ‘sameness’ may prevent anxiety traits.

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An Ultragenyx employee removes materials from a lab freezer.

Angelman therapy appears safer in restarted trial

by  /  5 August 2022

Interim results from the previously paused trial suggest that doses of the experimental gene therapy drug GTX-102 are well tolerated in children with the autism-linked condition.

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July 2022
A red, white, blue and pink board game-like pathway with several children playing on it sits against a yellow background. The pathway also features several pills, and at the left is a doctor consulting a notepad.

Factors other than autism traits guide therapies for autistic children

by  /  28 July 2022

Most autistic children in the Netherlands have used some sort of treatment, but the number, type and timing varies depending on considerations unrelated to their condition.

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A mother holds her son while on a video call with a doctor.

Access to virtual autism therapy in U.S. could narrow post-COVID

by  /  15 July 2022

When the federal public health emergency expires, so too could temporary insurance coverage of applied behavior analysis conducted remotely. A proposed rule could block those changes, however, at least for people with public insurance.

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The most personalized medicine: Studying your own child’s rare condition

by  /  7 July 2022

A handful of scientists are committed to advancing research on the autism-related genetic conditions their own children have.

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