Healing Thresholds Autism Therapy Topic Feed

Drug May Lessen Symptoms of Autism

scottie — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Teaser:

Suramin, a drug used to treat African sleeping system, will soon be in trial studies to see if it may help autism symptoms.

Body:

Suramin, a drug used to treat African sleeping system, will soon be in trial studies to see if it may help autism symptoms. The drug, in use since 1916, has been found to help with autism symptoms, including social behavior problems, in mice. Professor Robert Naviaux, of the Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center at the University of California at San Diego explained, “Of course, correcting abnormalities in a mouse is a long way from a cure for humans. But we are encouraged enough to test this approach in a small clinical trial of children with autism spectrum disorder in the coming year.”

Original Article:

Scientists Hopeful Suramin Can Reverse Symptoms of Autism

With Precision is New Canadian Job Initiative for People with Autism

scottie — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 23:44:42 +0000

Teaser:

The Sinneave Family Foundation has donated money to With Precision, an initiative to pair people with autism with job opportunities in Canada.

Body:

The Sinneave Family Foundation has donated money to With Precision, an initiative to pair people with autism with job opportunities in Canada. Autism Calgary (Canada) hopes With Precision will provide knowledge to employers about the benefit of hiring people with autism. Maureen Jensen-Fitzpatrick with Autism Calgary explained, “In many ways, people with autism are really, really valuable employees.” Foundation president Tom Collins has begun the process by speaking with Safeway, London Drugs, SAIT, and Toys ‘R’ Us.

Original Article:

Autism Calgary Launches 'With Precision' Employment Project

New Drug May Improve Eye Contact and Speech in Children with Autism

scottie — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Teaser:

A new drug, bumetanide, may be helpful for children with autism.

Body:

A new drug, bumetanide, may be helpful for children with autism. The drug is used in the U.S. for the treatment of heart failure, liver disease, and kidney failure. Early studies suggest that it improves eye contact and speech in children with mild autism.

Original Article:

Generic Drug May Ease Autism in Children

Drug for Anxiety May Help Some Children with Autism

scottie — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:57:01 +0000

Teaser:

The drug Arbaclofen has been found to help anxiety in people with Fragile X syndrome and autism.

Body:

The drug Arbaclofen has been found to help anxiety in people with Fragile X syndrome and autism. Arbaclofen acts like a chemical (GABA) in the brain. It is a new and improved form of a drug (baclofen) that is already approved in the United States to treat spastic movement problems. While Arbaclofen is not yet approved for use in the United States, Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis and her research team are hopeful that it will improve social behavior and social learning in children with autism.

Original Article:

Autism Patients Might Benefit From Drug Therapy

Hormone May Improve Autism Symptoms

scottie — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:06:51 +0000

Teaser:

An injected growth hormone (IGF-1) is being tested in children to see if it can improve some symptoms of autism.

Body:

An injected growth hormone (IGF-1) is being tested in children to see if it can improve some symptoms of autism. Scientists at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have shown that IGF-1 can improve symptoms of autism in a mouse model. IGF-1 is approved for use in children who are not growing well. This would be a new use of an approved and available drug.

Original Article:

NJ Teen is First Patient in Autism Clinical Trial

Supplement (NAC) May Help Irritability in Children with Autism

scottie — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:41:27 +0000

Teaser:

News Medical reported on a study designed to see if a nutritional supplement could help control irritability in children with autism.

Body:

News Medical reported on a recent pilot study designed to see if a nutritional supplement that can be bought in health food stores could help control irritability in children with autism. The supplement, N-acetylcystein (NAC) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Tylenol (acetaminophen) overdose. The drug N-acetylcysteine (NAC) restores glutathione levels, which may, in turn, protect brain cells. NAC also appears to reduce excitability in the glutamate system of the brain. Dr. Antonio Hardan, lead researcher, explained, “Data from this preliminary trial suggest that NAC has the potential to be helpful in targeting irritability in children with autism. It is also unclear if NAC improves other symptom domains in autism.” Hardan also explained that much larger studies must be done in order to determine whether or not NAC might be able to be approved as an autism intervention.

Original Article:

NAC Reduces Irritability in Children with Autism

Drug Therapy May Improve Language and Social Skills in Children with Autism

scottie — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:32:22 +0000

Teaser:

This article focuses on a new study using the drug propranolol to help increase social skills and language in children with autism.

Body:

This article focuses on a new study using the drug propranolol to help increase social skills and language in people with autism. Propranolol is typically used to treat high blood pressure, control heart rate, and reduce test anxiety. Dr. David Beversdorf, MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and his group are the first to study the potential benefits of this drug on autism in a controlled manner. They believe the drug acts on the brains of people with autism to assist in language and communication. In earlier studies, researchers discovered that propranolol helped with word unscrambling and word fluency. In follow-up studies, Beversdorf hopes to be able to discover who with autism will respond favorably to the drug.

Original Article:

Promising Drug Treatment for Improving Language, Social Function in People with Autism

Sheriff’s Department Learns to Recognize Signs of Autism in Children and Adults

scottie — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:20:18 +0000

Teaser:

Tracy Gott, mom of a child with autism, and Sullivan County (TN) Sheriff Wayne Anderson believe it is important for law enforcement officers to learn about autism.

Body:

Tracy Gott, mom of a child with autism, and Sullivan County (TN) Sheriff Wayne Anderson believe it is important for law enforcement officers to learn about autism. Without some training on the signs of autism, officers might mistake a non-verbal child as being rude or stubborn, or an adult as being on drugs. Gott also explains the importance of letting local law enforcement know if you have a child or adult on the spectrum they should know about. “That way local authorities can put your information into their system in the case there is an emergency at your home.” The Autism Society of East Tennessee has more information and provides education and awareness.

Original Article:

Officers Learning How to Recognize Signs of Autism

Gastrointestinal Symptoms in a Sample of Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders

scottie — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Title	Gastrointestinal Symptoms in a Sample of Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Publication Type	Journal Article
Journal Title	J Autism Dev Disord
Year of Publication	2009
Volume	39
Issue	3
Pages	405-413
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18791817
Teaser	Children’s GI problems appear less likely to respond to autism treatment and therefore GI symptoms may need to be considered and treated when creating a treatment plan for a child with autism.
Full Text	Children’s GI problems appear less likely to respond to autism treatment and therefore GI symptoms may need to be considered and treated when creating a treatment plan for a child with autism. The purpose of this study was to study the GI problems in a large sample of children with autism. The authors studied 172 children who entered two large-scale autism drug therapy trials. The groups (GI problems and no GI problems) were the same with regards to sex, race, special education placement, and family background. It seemed that those children who had more GI problems also had more behavioral problems. Children with autism and GI problems also had more social problems than children without GI problems.

Management of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Primary Care

scottie — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 20:54:47 +0000

Title	Management of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Primary Care
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Myers SM
Journal Title	Pediatric Annals
Year of Publication	2009
Volume	38
Issue	1
Pages	42-49
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19213293
Teaser	Effective medical treatment may allow a child with autism to respond better to educational and behavioral interventions as well as to other types of therapies.
Full Text	Effective medical treatment may allow a child with autism to respond better to educational and behavioral interventions as well as to other types of therapies. Autism is a common, chronic disease and patients with autism require a medical home. Certain health factors may make autism worse and behavior worse. The purpose of this article is to describe how doctors can manage autism as a chronic disease. The main treatments for autism are behavioral and include applied behavior analysis (ABA). Drug therapy may be useful if target symptoms are severe and do not respond to behavioral interventions.