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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.

April 2012

Cognition and behavior: Language defect identified in autism

by  /  13 April 2012

Children who have both autism and intellectual disability may understand fewer words than their speaking skills suggest, which is not the case for typically developing children or those with intellectual disability alone. The results were published 21 February in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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Molecular mechanisms: Autism gene modulates connectivity

by  /  10 April 2012

Neurons lacking PTEN, an autism-associated gene also involved in cancer, are hyperconnected to both near and distant brain cells, according to a study published 1 February in The Journal of Neuroscience.

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Blocking bullies

by  /  3 April 2012

Children with autism are bullied three times more than their typically developing siblings, according to research from the Interactive Autism Network.

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March 2012

Researchers make neurons from blood cells

by  /  28 March 2012

Researchers have generated neurons from the blood cells of individuals with autism, according to a study published 7 March in Neuroscience Letters.

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Researchers seek ‘active ingredients’ of early intervention

by  /  26 March 2012

Early intensive intervention is the only therapy that has been shown to be effective in young children with autism, according to a 2011 review of autism treatments commissioned by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. But researchers are just beginning to tease out what they refer to as its ‘active ingredients:’ why the treatment works, which elements are essential and why it fails to help some children.

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Clinical research: Joint attention can predict autism outcome

by  /  20 March 2012

How easy it is to engage the attention of a child with autism by gazing or pointing at an object may predict how well he or she will be able to function as an adult, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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Molecular mechanisms: Autism protein forms aggregates

by  /  13 March 2012

DISC1, an autism-associated protein, can form large aggregates that deplete the amount of functional DISC1 in cells, according to a study published 14 February in Human Molecular Genetics.

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Clinical trials for autism treatments go online

by  /  8 March 2012

A new clinical trial, conducted entirely online, could provide a model for how to quickly and efficiently test some potential treatments for autism.

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Minority delay

by  /  6 March 2012

Minority children tend to show more severe symptoms of autism early on, regardless of social class.

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February 2012

Documentary review: ‘Le Mur’ (‘The Wall’)

by  /  28 February 2012

The French documentary Le Mur (The Wall) shows that many psychoanalysts in France shun biological explanations for autism.

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