The list of research areas and treatments under analysis mentioned in various sources for Autism includes:
Some of the more recent treatments for Autism include:
Treatments to consider for Autism may include:
Gene causing muscle weakness noticed in Autistic kids: According to research presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, few kids with autism may have a genetic defect that affects the muscles. The research involved the study of 37 children with autism spectrum disorders who were evaluated for mitochondrial disease, which causes muscle weakness and prevents a child from being able to participate in physical activities and sports. Genetic mutations affecting the mitochondria (the cell component that releases energy), causes Mitochondrial disease. The study revealed that a total of 24 of the children, or 65 percent, had defects in the process by which cells produce and synthesize energy in the muscles, or oxidative phosphorylation defects in the skeletal muscles. Most children with autism spectrum disorders did not have recognizable abnormalities when genetic tests, imaging, and metabolic tests were analysed, but a subset of these children did have significant defects in this area. Therefore it was concluded that the Identification of this defect is important for understanding the mechanism of how genes that produce autism spectrum disorders affected the function of the mitochondria.
The increasing use of psychotropic medications to treat autism and other childhood-onset psychiatric disorders has spotlighted an urgent need for more studies of such drugs in children. To meet this need, NIMH has established, at several research centers, a network of Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPPs) that combine expertise in psychopharmacology and psychiatry. The RUPPs are intended to become a national resource that will expedite clinical trials in children. They include five groups specifically funded to evaluate treatments for autism. Studies are examining dose range and regimen of medications, and their mechanisms of action, safety, efficacy, and effects on cognition, behavior, and development. The RUPPs recently completed enrollment of the first multi-site controlled trial of the antipsychotic medication risperidone in children with autism, with results scheduled to become available in 2001. The Institute is also supporting a study of valproate* as a treatment for aggressive behavior in adolescents affected by the illness. In 2001, the RUPP network will launch a new protocol to test the efficacy and safety of treatments for inattention and hyperactivity in children with autism. An expansion of the network is planned for FY 2002. (Source: excerpt from Autism Research: NIMH)
A network of five NIMH-supported research centers that combine expertise in psychopharmacology and psychiatry are evaluating the atypical antipsychotic risperidone for reducing aggressive self-injurious behavior in children with autism. Other NIMH research is investigating valproate for diminishing this behavior in adolescents with autism. Studies are examining dose range and regimen of medications, and their mechanisms of action, safety, efficacy, and effects on cognition, behavior, and development. (Source: excerpt from Unraveling Autism: NIMH)
The following medical news items are relevant to medical research for Autism:
Some of the clinical trials for Autism include:
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