News tagged with 'Autism'

Babies born before 37 weeks of age are subject to a host of problems, and researchers are finding that infections in the amniotic fluid may be one cause. Better screening for bacterial and fungal infections mid-pregnancy may help reduce the number of babies born prematurely.

Under a proposal by the governor of Illinois, children with insurance, would have to be covered for the treatment of autism up to $36,000 a year, helping families already devastated by a diagnosis of the mind altering disease.

New research suggests that some cases of autism arise from defects in genes that can be turned on or off by mental activity. The findings bring renewed hope to the devastating disorder and may eventually lead to future treatments.

The Kids Count annual report finds the number of low birth weight infants is rising due to prematurity and poverty. The southern U.S. is particularly hard hit.

Actress, author and Mom of an autistic child, Jenny McCarthy will lead a march on Washington Wednesday asking for a safer vaccine schedule. The latest research on autism links it to low birth weight in girls.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist says that large health insurers have done very well and must now cover children with autism. "It's the right thing," he said today signing the meaure into law.  The legislation does not help those without health insurance.

In a shocking break with the medical community, Dr. Bernadine Healy, former head of the NIH, says the medical community has been too quick to dismiss parents concerns of an autism-vaccine link. It deserves study she says and was concerned by a 2004 report that said look no further. Some children should be included in a sub-set that never get vaccines or receive them on an alternate schedule, she believes.

The national vaccine court, a no-fault payout system that protects manufacturers, will consider the test case of two 10-year old boys with autism to see if their conditions merit compensation under the fund.

Tomorrow is World Autism Awareness Day, a time to focus on what causes the social deficit disease that circumvents normal interactions and development in children. New research on schizophrenia suggests it could be a cousin to autism.

New gene-scanning technology is allowing researchers to uncover the underlying biology of mental disorders by pinpointing glitches in individual genes that may lead to schizophrenia.  We all may have gene glitches but how they work together is the key.

For the first time, federal health officials concede that a childhood vaccines worsened a girls rare disorder which led to autism symptoms. While many are calling this an unprecedented admission, the CDC gathered reporters to say it hasn't changed its position. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) , a medical group of 60,000 pediatricians around the nation is playing television producer.   The AAP is asking ABC Entertainment, producer of the new drama, Eli Stone, to cancel

  Autism families are calling a California study “flawed” that minimizes a link between autism and thimerosal.  The study says cases are continuing to skyrocket in California even though the mercury based preservative has been removed. Critics say it's too early to tell.   

California's autism rate has skyrocketed over the past four years according to a new study recently completed by the state's Department of Developmental Services. According to the report, which tracked the number of autism cases reported to 21 regional medical centers receiving government-funded aid, 10,360 cases were

According to a new study conducted by researchers with the University of California, Davis, the number of reported autism cases in California increased by over 270 percent between 1987 and 1998. Puzzled by the mounting number of cases, researchers involved in the study admitted that the health community should rethink