Learning by Scanning

Finding out more about Autism

Researchers are taking scans of sleeping children, discovering what occurs in the brains of babies and young children with autism.  Using what is called fMRI, or functional magnetic resonance imaging, researchers from the University of California, San Diego peer at images of the children’s brains.  Research shows that when hearing bedtime stories, autistic children as young as 14 months use different brain regions than youngsters with more typical development. More...

A HOPEFUL TREATMENT FOR AUTISM

There has been research that shows that a gene mutation of the brain called SHANK3 can cause a severely delayed, or even absent, language abilities, intellectual disabilities and autism. SHANK3 was mutated by Mount Sinai School of Medicine and injected into mice. The researchers noticed that there was a lapse in communication between nerve cells in the brain. The breakdown indicates that the nerves were not maturing properly.
The researchers then used a derivative of an insulin-like growth factor-1 {IGF1} and observed an improvement in the communication of the nerve cells in the brain. After only two weeks of treatment, nerve cell communication and adaptation of nerve cells to stimulation was restored.
"The result of IGF1 treatment of these mice is an exciting development on the road to ultimate therapies for individuals with PMS," said Joseph Buxbaum, PhD, Director of the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "If these data are further verified in additional preclinical studies, individuals with a SHANK3 mutation may benefit from treatments with compounds like this one."

The team at the Seaver Autism Center, lead by Dr. Buxbaum will continue to evaluate the efficacy of IGF1 in mice. Evaluation of the effects on neuroanatomical changes will be done by Patrick Hof, MD, Professor of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Leading the study of the behavioral changes in the mice is Jacqueline Crawley, PhD, Senior Investigator at the National Institutes of Health.
As a friend of families who are coping with autism, this is VERY exciting news! Will it cure all spectrums of autism? We can only pray.
Looking for resources, direction? Please visit the Autism Resource Foundation
Source
Medical News Today

Simple Facts About Autism

Autism affect approximately 1 in 110 children, 4 times more in males that females. We do not yet know what causes Autism.
Autism can be diagnosed at 2 or 3 years old.