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Archive for March, 2011

 

GEN news highlights: Mar 2, 2011


Researchers are implicating several new candidate genes and genomic variants as contributors to autism and note that many more remain to be discovered. While the gene alterations are individually very rare, they mostly appear to disrupt genes that play important functional roles in brain development and nerve signaling. While an association between genomic variants in certain nervous system processes and autism has been hypothesized in the past, the scientists believe that their work definitively links these biological functions to autism.


“This large study is the first to demonstrate a statistically significant connection between genomic variants in autism and both synaptic function and neurotransmission,” states Peter S. White, Ph.D., a molecular geneticist and director of the Center for Biomedical Informatics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.


“Prior genomic studies of autism have successfully identified several genes that appear to confer risk for autism, but each gene appears to contribute to only a small percentage of cases,” adds Xiaowu Gai, Ph.D. “Our approach considered whether groups of genes with common biological functions collectively accounted for a greater percentage of autism risk.” Dr. White was senior author and Dr. Gai was lead author on the study, which appears online in Molecular Psychiatry. The paper is titled “Rare structural variation of synapse and neurotransmission genes in autism.”


Read in Full: http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/genetic-roots-of-autism-found-to-be-highly-complicated/81244762/



The National Autistic Society

 

Hi,


The Government has announced a one billion pound cut to Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Next week in parliament, MPs will debate plans for a new system which could make it much harder for adults with autism to claim DLA. We have a chance to make them think again.

Our Who benefits? report demonstrates what a lifeline DLA is for many adults with autism and their families. We need to do everything we can make sure the Government’s plans do not unfairly disadvantage people with autism.

We need you to ask your MP to help protect this crucial benefit for people with autism.

Thanks, as always, for your support.


 

Jane Asher


President

National Autistic Society


 

 

P.S. Following a survey of our campaigners, you now can send an email using an easy read form.



Reunited

 

Mar 2 2011

By Dan Coombs

 

THE father of an autistic 20-year-old man placed in care against his wishes is rejoicing after a High Court judgment this week confirmed that his son would be able to come home permanently.


Hillingdon Council had placed a Deprivation of Liberty order on Steven Neary, which was temporarily over-turned in December.


Reporting restrictions were placed on the case when it was heard in the secretive Court of Protection in central London.


The interim order was made permanent this week and a reporting ban was lifted, as Mr Justice Mostyn decided the case should be in the public domain.


Steven Neary was placed into council care in December 2009 when his father, Mark, of Penrith Close, Uxbridge, became ill with flu.


To his father’s horror, when he recovered the council said it would be unsafe to release Steven as it felt he had displayed ‘challenging behaviour’.


This was disputed by Mr Neary, who said any such behaviour was brought on by being in the council unit in Colham Road, Yiewsley.


Last July, when the Gazette was the first media organisation to take up the story, Mr Neary said: “Being forced into a situation he does not like, finds difficult to understand and gets upset about means he can react to the situation and this gets used as evidence against him.


“Prior to going to the treatment unit, Steven had quite a good life; he was content with his routines and daily activities. Of course he gets anxious at times – that’s autism.”


Yesterday morning (Tuesday) Mr Neary said: “If it hadn’t been for the Gazette, it would not have led to wider media interest in the story.


“I wouldn’t have got a solicitor, as before that I was hitting so many dead ends. I will be forever grateful.


“I am absolutely over the moon, in a state of shock really.”


The support of 5,785 people in a Facebook group also inspired him not to give up, even at moments when victory seemed against the odds.


Read in Full: http://www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/west-london-news/local-uxbridge-news/2011/03/02/dad-and-autistic-son-reunited-after-high-court-judgment-113046-28266652/



Previous Articles

 

“Get Stephen Home” Campaign:

https://www.aspie-editorial.com/?s=Steven+Neary&x=0&y=0



 

Article Date: 24 Feb 2011 – 12:00 PST


High blood levels of a hormone produced in response to stress are linked to post-traumatic stress disorder in women but not men, a study from researchers at Emory University and the University of Vermont has found.


The results are scheduled for publication in the Feb. 24 issue of Nature.


The hormone, called PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide), is known to act throughout the body and the brain, modulating central nervous system activity, metabolism, blood pressure, pain sensitivity and immune function. The identification of PACAP as an indicator of PTSD may lead to new diagnostic tools and eventually, to new treatments for anxiety disorders.


“Few biological markers have been available for PTSD or for psychiatric diseases in general,” says first author Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine and a researcher at Yerkes National Primate Research Center. “These results give us a new window into the biology of PTSD.”


Read in Full:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/217393.php



schizophrenia

 

Article Date: 26 Feb 2011 – 0:00 PST

 

A rare genetic malfunction which only affects 0.3% of patients may eventually lead the way to better treatment for some individuals with schizophrenia, say scientists from the University of California, San Diego, USA. The NIH-funded study found that people with schizophrenia are 14 times more likely to have multiple copies of a gene on Chromosome 7 than those in the control group.


The faults were found in the gene for VIPR2, the receptor for VIP (vasoactive intestinal peptide). VIP is a chemical messenger experts say plays a role in the development of the brain. When examining patients’ blood they found that they had excess VIP activity.


Read in Full:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/217530.php



 

ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2011) — A sub-study of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) headed by Ms Posserud was conducted as part of the “Barn i Bergen” (Children in Bergen) project. The study shows that the diagnosis of ASD may apply to as much as one per cent of the population.

 

ASD is a collective term for diagnoses such as autism (childhood autism), Asperger’s syndrome, atypical autism and other autistic traits. The classic signs of autistic behaviour include communication difficulties, poor social skills, repetitive behaviour and narrowly focused interests.


Different results


A study conducted in 1998 found that autism occurred in 0.05 per cent of Norwegian children. The figures from the “Barn i Bergen” project could therefore be interpreted to mean that the incidence of autism has risen dramatically. However, Ms Posserud thinks it is important to downplay the difference in results.


“It is difficult to know whether the differences in these studies reflect a genuine increase in the incidence of ASD. Our conclusion is that the rise in ASD can be explained mainly by the use of more thorough mapping methods and, consequently, that we are not seeing the emergence of an autism epidemic,” says Ms Posserud, who is a doctor and researcher in the field of child psychiatry at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen.


Read in Full:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110228090611.htm



College Students/Social Skills

 

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on March 1, 2011


New research supports the notion that successful navigation of the college environment provides social benefits to students as they move into the workforce.


Specifically, Finnish psychologists discovered students’ social skills and behavior in social situations during their university studies contribute to their success in the transition to work. The social strategies adopted during university studies also have an impact on work commitment and early-career coping with working life.


The study looked at the relationship between the social strategies students show at university and how well they cope with work-related challenges. It was carried out with funding from the Academy of Finland.


“The higher the initial level of social optimism and the bigger the increase during university studies, the greater the level of early-career work engagement, dedication and career-related commitment,” said Dr. Katariina Salmela-Aro, the principal investigator of the project.


Work engagement is defined as a positive, motivating work-related state of mind characterised by vigor, enthusiasm and dedication.


The results of the research project also suggest that social withdrawal and avoidance during university studies are indicative of a distant attitude towards work and an increased likelihood of exhaustion and burnout after the transition to working life.


Read in Full:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/03/01/learning-social-skills-in-college-helps-predict-work-career-success/23991.html



 

Article Date: 01 Mar 2011 – 4:00 PSt

 

Death can be terrifying. Recognizing that death is inescapable and unpredictable makes us incredibly vulnerable, and can invoke feelings of anxiety, hatred and fear. But new research by George Mason University psychology professor Todd Kashdan shows that being a mindful person not only makes you generally more tolerant and less defensive, but it can also actually neutralize fears of dying and death.

 

 

“Mindfulness is being open, receptive, and attentive to whatever is unfolding in the present moment,” says Kashdan. In his latest research, Kashdan and his colleagues wanted to find out if mindful people had different attitudes about death and dying.

 


“Generally, when reminded of our mortality, we are extremely defensive. Like little kids who nearly suffocate under blanket protection to fend off the monster in the closet, the first thing we try to do is purge any death-related thoughts or feelings from our mind,” says Kashdan.

 


“On the fringes of this conscious awareness, we try another attempt to ward off death anxiety. We violently defend beliefs and practices that provide a sense of stability and meaning in our lives.”

 


Kashdan says this practice often has an ugly side – intolerance and abuse. “When people are reminded that death is impending, their racist tendencies increase,” he says. In a series of experiments conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia, for example, white people asked to read about a crime committed by another person give harsher penalties for black compared with white defendants after being reminded of their mortality.

 


Kashdan wondered what might prevent these defensive, intolerant reactions from occurring. In a recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, he and his colleagues looked at what might happen when mindfulness and the terror of death collide.

 

 

“A grudge match between humanity and death,” says Kashdan.

 

Read in Full:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/217801.php



Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention

 

 

David Van Nuys, Ph.D. Updated: Feb 28th 2011

 


Ms. Ellison, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, is an adult with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, and the mother of a son who also is diagnosed with ADHD. She has written a book, Buzz, about her experiences living with and coming to terms with ADHD in herself and her son. Ms. Ellison reports she has always been a restless and easily bored person. She gravitated towards journalism in part because it offered her an opportunity to work in a highly stimulating, rapidly changing environment which fit her need for constant novelty. Though decorated for the quality of her work (for her 1980s era coverage of the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines) she was also prone to make mistakes and several times was nearly sued for inaccurate reportage. As a younger person she was skeptical about the validity of ADHD and critical of parents who allowed their children to be medicated for ADHD. However, as she became a parent of a child with ADHD symptoms and grappled with parenting issues made more difficult by her own tendency towards distraction she came around. Her son was medicated for a period of one year and showed dramatic improvement in terms of his ability to concentrate and to make friends and a decrease in oppositional behaviors. After being diagnosed herself she came to understand and appreciate the role this condition has played in the lives of multiple generations of her family.


David Van Nuys: Welcome to Wise Counsel, a podcast interview series sponsored by Mentalhelp.net, covering topics in mental health, wellness, and psychotherapy. My name is Dr. David Van Nuys. I’m a clinical psychologist and your host.

 

On today’s show, we’ll be talking with Pulitzer-Prize winning author Katherine Ellison about ADHD. Katherine Ellison is a Pulitzer-Prize winning former foreign correspondent, the mother of two boys, and the author of four books. She spent a total of 15 years covering Asia and Latin America for Knight Ridder newspapers. Her books include most recently The Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes You Smarter, and the even more recently released Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention.


Now, here’s the interview.

 

Katherine Ellison, welcome to Wise Counsel.


Katherine Ellison: Thank you very much.

 

David: Well, it’s great to have this opportunity to speak with you. I discovered you as a result of an article that you wrote for The Washington Post that got reprinted in my local paper. And in that article, you wrote about your family’s struggle with ADD or attention deficit disorder, and then I discovered that there was actually a book behind the article: Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention.

 

Read in Full/Listen to Podcast:

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=41773&cn=3

 

To Purchase a Copy of “Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention”:


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1401340881?ie=UTF8&tag=mentalhelpnet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1401340881


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401340881?ie=UTF8&tag=mentalhelpnet-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1401340881



 

First Published on Mon Feb 28 09:29:06 GMT 2011

 

The mother of computer hacker Gary McKinnon has said she fears that Nick Clegg is now “washing his hands” of her son’s fight against extradition to the US.


The Deputy Prime Minister has been one of Asperger’s sufferer Mr McKinnon’s staunchest supporters in the campaign for him to be tried in the UK – where all his crimes were committed.


However, Janis Sharp says that since coming into power, the Lib Dem leader has refused a personal request to meet her, stating it “would be better all round” if they did not discuss the ongoing case.


Mr Clegg said the decision was out of his hands and now that of the Home Secretary, Theresa May.

 

Mrs Sharp told the Daily Mail: “I wanted to raise my concerns with Mr Clegg as it is right and proper and by no means unreasonable in the horrific circumstances to which Gary and I are being subjected.

 

“I’m now afraid that he might be attempting to wash his hands of Gary and perhaps sees Gary as a thorn in his side.


“I so hope this isn’t true as I trusted Nick Clegg to the core – I really believed in him.

 

“The Lib Dems used my son’s case pre-election and as far as I am concerned it was 100% commitment to him. How can we have any trust in politicians when they behave like this?”

 

Read in Full:

http://www.bostonstandard.co.uk/news/clegg_washes_hands_of_hacker_case_1_2453956

Previous Updates

 

https://www.aspie-editorial.com/2011/02/16/pink-floyd-guitarist-paying-for-treatment-for-scots-hacker-gary-mckinnon/