Autism Genes Discovered; Help Shape Connections Among Brain Cells

A research associate inspects robotic equipment during the DNA labeling process.

 (Credit: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)

ScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2009) — A research team has connected more of the intricate pieces of the autism puzzle, with two studies that identify genes with important contributions to the disorder. One study pinpoints a gene region that may account for as many as 15 percent of autism cases, while another study identifies missing or duplicated stretches of DNA along two crucial gene pathways. Significantly, both studies detected genes implicated in the development of brain circuitry in early childhood.

"Because other autism researchers have made intriguing suggestions that autism arises from abnormal connections among brain cells during early development, it is very compelling to find evidence that mutations in genes involved in brain interconnections increase a child's risk of autism," said study leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He is on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, as is his main collaborator, neuroscientist Gerard D. Schellenberg, Ph.D.

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Pickens County Area Connection

Join us for coffee and snacks on
Thursday, April 30th
6:00 pm
St. Matthias Lutheran
Church Annex
501 Powdersville Road
Easley, SC 29640


Please call 331-1340 to register.

Brain Works Best When Cells Keep Right Rhythms, New Studies Suggest

ScienceDaily (Apr. 26, 2009) — It is said that each of us marches to the beat of a different drum, but new Stanford University research suggests that brain cells need to follow specific rhythms that must be kept for proper brain functioning. These rhythms don't appear to be working correctly in such diseases as schizophrenia and autism, and now two papers due to be published online this week by the journals Nature and Science demonstrate that precisely tuning the oscillation frequencies of certain neurons can affect how the brain processes information and implements feelings of reward.

"A unifying theme here is that of brain rhythms and 'arrhythmias'," said Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and senior author of both papers.

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Meditation Provides Hope For People With Depression

ScienceDaily (Apr. 27, 2009) — People with severe and recurrent depression could benefit from a new form of therapy that combines ancient forms of meditation with modern cognitive behaviour therapy, early-stage research by Oxford University psychologists suggests.

The results of a small-scale randomised trial of the approach, called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), in currently depressed patients are published in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy.

28 people currently suffering from depression, having also had previous episodes of depression and thoughts of suicide, were randomly assigned into two groups. One received MBCT in addition to treatment as usual, while the other just received treatment as usual. Treatment with MBCT reduced the number of patients with major depression, while it remained the same in the other group.

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New families of children with disabilities center opens Thursday

Staff Report

Published April 15, 2009

Family Connection will hold a grand opening of The Connection, South Carolina’s first full-service support center dedicated entirely to families raising children with special needs at 10:45 a.m. Thursday at 2712 Middleburg Drive.

More than $250,000 in in-kind contributions of materials and labor was given by local corporations, companies, community service groups and individuals to create the center.

The space was designed with families and children with disabilities in mind: Support groups, workshops and other parent gatherings can take place in a large meeting room; two rooms are specifically for children with disabilities and teens with disabilities; children can safely play in designated areas while parents meet for coffee, attend a workshop or visit a support group.

Family Connection has partnered with the University of South Carolina’s Center for Disability Resources, and the center’s entire library of more than 5,000 volumes will be available to parents.

Founded by parents and professionals in 1990, Family Connection is a statewide, nonprofit organization that helps thousands of children in South Carolina by providing parent-to-parent connections, linking families to community resources and sponsoring educational and support programs.

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When should Alzheimer's patients stop driving?

Yahoo! News (April 6) WASHINGTON – Scientists are creating tests to show when it's time for people with early Alzheimer's disease to stop driving. It's one of a family's most wrenching decisions, and as Alzheimer's increasingly is diagnosed in its earliest stages, it can be hard to tell when a loved one is poised to become a danger.

Factor in that much of the country lacks public transportation, and quitting too soon restricts independence for someone who otherwise may function well for several years.

"That's a real cost to the individual and family and society," says Jeffrey Dawson of the University of Iowa. "You have to have some sort of trade-off between the individual's independence along with the safety of the driver and with other people on the road."

To view entire article, please click on link above.

Lack Of Key Molecule Leads To Deafness

Inner ears with normal mouse hair cells (left) and without (right). (Credit: Amiel Dror)

ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2009) — Despite modern medicine, one in 1,000 American babies are born deaf. The numbers increase markedly with age, with more than 50% of seniors in the United States experiencing some form of hearing loss.

But the era of the hearing aid, and shouting at aging in-laws, may soon be over. A new study by a geneticist and hearing loss expert at Tel Aviv University has uncovered one of the root causes of deafness.

Prof. Karen Avraham of the Department of Human Molecular Genetics, Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, has discovered that microRNAs, tiny molecules that regulate cell functions, help us hear. Found in “hair” cells of the ear, this discovery opens an entirely new window for possible treatments, and a cure for all types of deafness, age-related or genetic.

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Maternal Immune Response To Fetal Brain During Pregnancy A Key Factor In Some Autism

ScienceDaily (Apr. 20, 2009) — New studies in pregnant mice using antibodies against fetal brains made by the mothers of autistic children show that immune cells can cross the placenta and trigger neurobehavioral changes similar to autism in the mouse pups.

A report on the research from investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center published online in the Journal of Neuroimmunology expands on a 2008 report from the same team showing that mothers of autistic children tested positive for fetal brain antibodies. Antibodies are proteins the body naturally makes to attack foreign tissues, viruses or bacteria. Because a growing fetus is not "rejected" by the mother's immune system even though some of its DNA is "foreign" (from the father), scientists have long suspected that some combination of maternal and fetal biological protection is at work. The new research from Hopkins, however, suggests that the protective system is not perfect and that antibodies are not only made but are re-circulated back to the fetus through the placenta, possibly triggering inflammation in the brain and leading to a cascade of neurological changes resulting in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism.

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Neurodegeneration Study Reveals Targets Of Destruction

ScienceDaily (Apr. 19, 2009) — Scientists are reporting the strongest evidence to date that neurodegenerative diseases target and progress along distinct neural networks that normally support healthy brain function. The discovery could lead to earlier diagnoses, novel treatment-monitoring strategies, and, possibly, recognition of a common disease process among all forms of neurodegeneration.

The study, reported in the April 16 issue of the journal Neuron, was conducted by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco and the Stanford University School of Medicine, who characterized their finding as "an important new framework for understanding neurodegenerative disease."

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New Wireless Sensor First For Instant Monitoring Of Brain Oxygen

ScienceDaily (Apr. 20, 2009) — Scientists in Italy and Ireland are reporting development of the first wireless sensor that gives second-by-second readings of oxygen levels in the brain. The new microsensor — smaller than a dime — could become the basis for tiny devices to help test drugs and other treatments for patients with traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and other conditions.

In the new report, Pier Andrea Serra and colleagues note that the most common method for monitoring brain neurochemical levels is microdialysis, a technique that requires insertion of a relatively big probe into the brain. That technique, however, has several disadvantages including low sample rate and the necessity of a complex analytical apparatus.

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ABA Workshop: Teaching People with Autism: Evidence-Based Practices for Promoting Independence and Enjoyment

This workshop will summarize evidence-based practices for teaching meaningful skills to children and adults with autism. A particular focus will be on teaching strategies that are usually enjoyed by learners with autism, as well as specific ways to help make teaching sessions enjoyable in general. Following a summary of basic teaching procedures that have a scientific evidence base to support their effectiveness, new developments in teaching processes will be presented. The latter will include, for example, how to teach skills in a rapid or intensive fashion, embedding brief teaching procedures within ongoing interactions in natural settings, preference-based teaching, and simulation teaching for helping adolescents and adults with autism acquire skills to succeed in supported work. Teaching approaches will be described in a step-by-step manner followed by instructor demonstrations and where relevant, audience practice in role-play situations.

Dennis H. Reid, Ph.D., BCBA

Dr. Dennis Reid is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked with children and adults with autism for 35 years. He has published over 100 journal articles and authored or co-authored seven books. Dr. Reid is a Fellow in the Association for Behavior Analysis International and recipient of the 2006 International Research Award of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He is the founder and director of the Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center in Morganton, North Carolina, and currently works with people who have autism in schools, residential centers, and community living. His company has also employed adults with autism in a supported work capacity for the last 14 years.

June 08, 2009 

Columbia Conference Center, 169 Laurelhurst Ave., Columbia, SC 29210 

 Workshop 9:00am - 4:00pm (registration at 8:00am)

Registration fee            $75 (for workshop only & includes lunch)

CEU fee (optional)       $20 (for 6 CEU's from BACB)

For more information, please click on the title above. 

Test Quickly Assesses Whether Alzheimer's Drugs Are Hitting Their Target

ScienceDaily (Apr. 15, 2009) — A test developed by physician-scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis may help assess more quickly the ability of Alzheimer's drugs to affect one of the possible underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease in humans, accelerating the development of new treatments.

Scientists used the test to show that an Alzheimer's drug given to healthy volunteers reduced production of a substance known as amyloid beta (A-beta), a normal byproduct of human metabolism that builds to unhealthy levels forming brain plaques in Alzheimer's patients. The drug candidate, LY450139, which is also known as semagacestat, is being studied in clinical trials by Eli Lilly and Company.

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Eye Exercises Help Patients Work Out Vision Problems, Optometrist Says

ScienceDaily (Apr. 9, 2009) — You've probably been there. In a doctor's office, being advised to do what you dread – exercise. You get that feeling in your gut, acknowledging that, indeed, you should exercise but probably won't. Now imagine that the doctor is your optometrist.

Don't clean your glasses. You read that right. Eye exercises are used to treat a variety of vision disorders, according to Dr. Janice Wensveen, clinical associate professor at the University of Houston's College of Optometry.

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