Dr. Martha Herbert will be speaking at ICare4Autism’s International Autism Conference June 5^th, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. For the conference, ‘Autism: Cutting Edge Research and Promising Treatment and Educational Approaches,’ Herbert will present her holistic approach in a seminar Taking a Fresh Look at Autism. For more information or to register for the conference, visit: http://www.icare4autism.org/events/2013-autism-conference/ .

“Autism Now: Dr. Martha Herbert Extended Interview.” PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health/jan-june11/herbertext_04-20.html>.

A new study on patterns of brain communication in toddlers with autism demonstrates problems with neural communication even at this early stage of brain development, according to an article in

A team of researchers from The Netherlands (University Medical Center Utrecht and Utrecht University, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, and VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam) compared electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from young children with and without autism. The researchers assessed patterns of communication between different functional neural networks in the brain that facilitate the processing and integration of information.

In the article, “Disrupted Functional Brain Networks in Autistic Toddlers,” pronounced differences in the communications patterns are described, specifically in areas such as path length and clustering.

The new finding is significant in aiding researcher’s understanding of abnormal brain development in autistic children, and supports the assertion that autism is a disorder of connectivity. The article, which shows evidence of reduced brain connectivity and a lower capacity for neural communication, will augment existing research on the subject.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/258100.php

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by abnormalities in language and social behavior development. A new study stemming from a study done by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine indicates that a majority of causes for autism are caused by a sustained cell danger response.

This suggests that autism happens when cells get fastened in a defensive metabolic mode and fail to communicate together, which can interfere with brain function and development. This theory was tested using a class of drugs that have been around for almost a century, to block the danger signal in a mouse model. They called this new treatment APT or antipurinergic therapy. A well known inhibitor, Suramin, most commonly used in African sleeping sickness treatment was tested. They found that in the mice model the drug restored 17 types of multi-symptom abnormalities, even after onset of symptoms.

The conclusions of this research, has given hope to an opportunity to develop a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs to treat autism spectrum disorders, as well as a small clinical trial in children with autism in the next year

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130313182019.htm

The  Southwick Park School, part of the Cambian Group, will offer in-house therapy all year round for seven to 19 year olds. Jason Goddard, head teacher, said the school would be creating some 150 new jobs over the coming months.

Youngest students come to the school from the age of 7. Education and transition pathway services range from specialist primary schools, specialist secondary schools and specialist further education services. We also offer post-19 provisions and adult residential services. Admission to any of our schools and provisions can take place anytime during the school year.

Steve Huggett, director of the Autism Education Trust, said local authorities do not run facilities providing 52-week placements because there are so few people who need this help, so they tend to be run privately. He said individual placements in such places could cost more than £150,000 per year.

At Cambian Southwick Park, the severity of autism and learning difficulties among students will vary. The school currently employs 38 members of staff, which is likely to increase to 200.

Synapse development is promoted by a range of cell adhesion molecules that join neurons and organize synaptic proteins. Many of these adhesion molecules are linked to neurodevelopmental disorders; mutations in neuroligin and neurexin proteins, are associated with autism. Other groups of proteins linked to these disorders regulates the function of neuroligins and neurexins in order to suppress the development of inhibitory synapses.

Ann Marie Craig and researchers from theUniversityofBritish Columbiainvestigated the function of MDGAs using co-culture assays, in which postsynaptic proteins like neuroligin-1 or -2 are expressed in non-neuronal cells and then tested for their ability to induce presynaptic differentiation in neighboring neurons. The researchers found that MDGA1′s extracellular domains bound to neuroligin-2, blocking its association with neurexin. “Overexpressing MDGA1 in neurons reduced the density of inhibitory synapses without affecting excitatory synapses,” Craig says. Knocking down MDGA1, on the other hand, increased inhibitory synapse development but had no effect on excitatory synapses.

“I can’t think of any other proteins that specifically suppress inhibitory synapse formation,” says Craig. Indeed, very few proteins in general have been identified as negative regulators of synapse development, compared to the many proteins that are known to promote synaptogenesis. The results suggest that function-altering mutations in the MDGA proteins may disrupt the balance of excitatory and inhibitory synapses in the brain, potentially explaining the development of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

“This puts MDGAs in the same pathway as neurexins and neuroligins and strengthens the evidence for the involvement of synaptic organizing proteins in autism and schizophrenia,” Craig explains.

Over the past 20 years, healthcare professionals have noticed parasitic worms help symptoms for patients with Crohn’s disease, and other disorders, like multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes are also being studied. Dr. Hollander, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of Autism and Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Program at Montefiore Medical Center, is leading a trial that will see if TSO can treat the symptoms of autism. “There’s some evidence with autism that some individuals may have had an activation of the maternal immune system – the inflammatory response is activated during pregnancy,” Hollander told FoxNews.com. “The TSO is a naturally-occurring drug delivering device that can dampen the inflammatory response and decrease pro-inflammatory cytokines, which is something that keeps the inflammatory process going. And, that’s associated with certain symptoms we see in the autism disorder.”

Hollander explained that his patient didn’t to respond to typical treatments like Risperdal or Abilify, which is used for severe disruptive behaviors and his family has a history of autoimmune diseases. The family noticed their son’s autism behavior improved when he was having an allergic reaction or fever, leading them to believe there was a problem with his immune response – so they got the idea to treat him with TSO, an immunotherapy biologic agent. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved TSO therapy yet, but there are ways to buy the product – either online or by traveling to another country. Dr. Hollander does not recommend patients buy the product without doctor supervision; the safest way to try out this therapy is by enrolling in the trial.

Dr. Hollander said his patient took a small capsule containing 2,500 whipworm ova every two weeks. By the eighth week of treatment, the patient’s behavior became less severe; by week 10, all of his symptoms had disappeared. The patient continued on this dosage for 15 months and did not have a single recurrence during that time. “So based on the fact that this teen had substantial improvement – it didn’t cure the autism, but it had a major impact on repetitive and disruptive behaviors,” Dr. Hollander said. “So, we designed a study to test this in a more systematic fashion.” Dr. Hollander said the trial will focus on 10 adults between the ages of 18 and 35, who are of normal intelligence with good verbal skills – that way the participants can describe the effects. Participants will also have allergies or a family history of autoimmune diseases. “During the course of treatment, we measure a range of outcomes,” Dr. Hollander said. “We’re looking to see if there’s a change in disruptive behaviors, irritability and pro-inflammatory cytokines. We’re looking to see if there’s an improvement in these inflammatory markers and also biomarkers. We’ll measure things in between genes, like eye-tracking.”

The one advantage to the trial, Dr. Hollander said, is the study is relatively safe; the eggs won’t reproduce in the gut or cause illness. “If the pilot study is positive, then we’d want to do larger-scale studies,” he added. The trial is funded by the Simons Foundation, and Coronado Biosciences is manufacturing the product.  There is still room for enrollment in the trial. Visit Albert Einstein’s research website for more information.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/21/study-looks-at-worm-therapy-to-treat-autism/?test=latestnews#ixzz2Ik7fwLuq

Clarkson University neurobiologist Alisa Woods. Photo: Joanna Richards

According to the latest CDC statistics one in 88 children in America have some form of autism. Autism affects communication and social abilities.  It’s typically diagnosed when children demonstrate slower language development than other kids. A research group at Clarkson University in Potsdam is finding information that may make earlier diagnosis and intervention promising. The study at Clarkson centers on identifying biomarkers for autism. A biomarker is some part of a subject’s biology that indicates an illness, a situation that points to the existence of a particular condition.

According to neurobiologist Alisa Woods, by finding the biomarkers for autism earlier diagnosis could result, way before the child begins to demonstrate problems with language acquirement around age two.  Woods says biomarkers could also prove useful in monitoring treatments for autism, because biological changes might prove easier to track than behavioral ones, and may also emerge in advance during treatment.  Woods says recognizing biomarkers may lead to earlier diagnosis, and earlier interventions that can assist autistic children’s development.

Since the key to helping autistic children is earlier identification, she says that “Behavioral interventions can be initiated at a very early age, even before two years old,”. “So then you might start doing those interventions – and early interventions have been known for over 20 years to be more effective than later interventions.”

Alisa Woods says her research is her obligation toward advocating for early treatments for autistic children.

“I’m a big advocate of early intervention, basically because of my personal experience going through that with my son, who, you know, is on the spectrum,” Woods says. “He was treated starting at 23 months, and I just thought it was transformative. I’m just amazed at how effective it is, and I would love to see more kids treated early.”

In the study, skilled interventionists visited the homes of half of the 48 participants for 20 hours per week providing ESDM for two years. The rest of the children were provided with regular community-based intervention.

After two years of ESDM virtually 75 percent of the children in the ESDM group established cognitive processing of the faces, the Atlantic.com reported. For those children not in the ESDM group,  just 36 percent had the similar answer.

According to the CDC, the amount of children with autism has risen considerably over the last decades. Today, 1 in 88 children is diagnosed with autism, including 1 in 54 boys. says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disorder, a neurodevelopmental condition, becomes noticeable around the age of 3, showing symptoms in communication, social interactions and repetitive behaviors..

The study conducted by Yale School of Medicine Researchers in November, confirms also that early intervention is important in the improved outcome of children on the spectrum. It showed better brain function as well as advances in their abilities to communicate and behave like other children.
The team of Fred Volkmar, M.D., Kevin A. Pelphrey, have found that brains of children  with autism respond well to an early treatment method called “pivotal response treatment”, a program geared toward helping the behavior of kids with ASD. The intervention requires parental involvement, as well as “play” situations. It was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.