Research
iCARE Research Program
What other research is being done?
New Study to seek causes of autism
iCARE Research Program
The program calls for studying improved methods of diagnosis, early detection, and
prevention by using approaches such as environmental neurobiology, genetics, and
psychopharmacology. These methods will provide genetic and scientific data on autism
spectrum disorders with the goal of early intervention and, ultimately, prevention.
Research into the causes of autism spectrum disorders is being fueled by other recent developments. Evidence points to genetic factors playing a prominent role. Using studies of twins and families with more than one autistic child, underlying genetic vulnerability is strongly suggested. With DNA samples, ICARE will mobilize scientists to pinpoint the culprit genes and begin to understand what goes wrong.
CDC has established a collaborative autism research network to explore potential causes and factors that make it more likely that a child will have autism. Some of the theories being investigated include infection and immune function, hormones and reproductive factors, genetic factors, gastrointestinal factors, socio-demographic factors, and others.
CADDRE: Centers of Excellence for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology
The Children’s Health Care Act of 2000 required the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish centers of excellence. The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at CDC funded five Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE). To learn more about CADDRE, click here.
What other research is being done?
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is one of the federal government's leading supporters of biomedical research on brain and nervous system disorders. The NINDS conducts research in its laboratories at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland , and also awards grants to support research at universities and other facilities.
As part of the Children's Health Act of 2000, the NINDS and three sister institutes have formed the NIH Autism Coordinating Committee to expand, intensify, and coordinate NIH's autism research. Eight dedicated research centers across the country have been established as "Centers of Excellence in Autism Research" to bring together researchers and the resources they need. The Centers are conducting basic and clinical research, including investigations into causes, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, and treatment, such as the studies highlighted below:
- Investigators are using animal models to study how the neurotransmitter serotonin establishes connections between neurons in hopes of discovering why these connections are impaired in autism
- Researchers are testing a computer-assisted program that would help autistic children interpret facial expressions
- A brain imaging study is investigating areas of the brain that are active during obsessive/repetitive behaviors in adults and very young children with autism
- Other imaging studies are searching for brain abnormalities that could cause impaired social communication in children with autism
- Clinical studies are testing the effectiveness of a program that combines parent training and medication to reduce the disruptive behavior of children with autism and other ASDs
Source: http://www.liliclairefoundation.org/autism.html
New Study to seek causes of autism
Taken from the San Francisco Chronicle - Associated Press Article dated 10/07/2006
Kaiser in Oakland among 6 centers to conduct research
Atlanta - The largest federal study to date on the causes of autism - a multistate investigation that will involve 2,700 young children - was announced Friday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and five other research centers - including the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute in Oakland - will study the youngsters over five years. The research is designed to ferret out any genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to autism.
"The CDC hasn't funded a study like this," said Diana Schendel, the CDC lead health scientist who is overseeing the Georgia research.
But some parents of autistic children say the CDC - which promotes childhood vaccinations - is not interested in fully exploring vaccinations as a potential cause of the condition.
"We don't want the CDC to do anything. We don't trust them," said Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism Association.
Fournier's group suspects that vaccines containing the mercury-based preservative thimerosal are a leading cause of the disorder, though past research suggests they are not. Since 2001, thimerosal has been removed from shots recommended for young children.
Autism is a complex disorder usually not diagnosed in children until after age 3. Symptoms can include repetitive behaviors such as head-banging, avoiding physical or eye-contact with others, and communicating with gestures rather than words.
In 2000, Congress directed federal health officials to increase research into autism. The law prompted a series of CDC studies, including research released in May that found 300,000 U.S. children have been diagnosed with autism.
The new study will recruit 900 children diagnosed with autism, 900 with undefined or other developmental problems, and 900 randomly selected youngsters.
Researchers will examine the medical records of the children and their parents, and will take cheek swabs and blood and hair samples, Schendel said.
The CDC awarded the other participating institutions $5.9 million for the study. They are Kaiser, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment , Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Pennsylvania.
Until Friday's announcement, the largest federal study to focus specifically on autism's causes was research sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, looking at 1,000 California children ages 2 to 5. That study is still in progress.
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