Posted on

What’s new in the immune system and ASD

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This holiday weekend always triggers a reincarnation, a resurrection of the vaccine – autism hypothesis.  Many of you have read about the measles epidemics that are hitting many areas of the country.  But besides vaccines, there are other aspects of the immune system that may be linked to autism in some people.  The include family history of autoimmune disorders as well as specific genetic mutations that confer protection against subtypes of ASD.  This week’s ASF podcast will explore these theories and present different ideas on how the immune response is involved in autism, and if it is at all.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30976114 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30975444

 

Posted on

Super siblings!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This podcast is dedicated to siblings of people with autism who are typically developing.  They play an important and beneficial role in development of socialization of those with ASD.  But sadly, they also have issues of their own, such as a high rate of issues like anxiety and depression.  Those siblings may be genetic carries of a specific mutation and not have an autism diagnosis, but have increased risk for schizophrenia and cognitive disability.  Finally, just because they are considered “typically developing” doesn’t mean they don’t have challenges with adaptive behavior.  However, they have a very special relationship with their brothers and sisters, and the world needs these strong advocates for the community.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30280363

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30248583

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcpp.12985

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41436-018-0266-3.pdf

Posted on

A conversation with Clare Harrop about autism in boys and girls

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Recently, Clare Harrop from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill published two papers which help explain the differences between boys and girls with autism, at least in kids and toddlers.  She graciously agreed to talk with us about these findings and what it means for better identification and diagnosis of girls with ASD, and where future research is needed.  Thank you to Dr. Harrop for this insight and for your work in this area!

Posted on

Classroom interventions that work

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Two studies came out recently which used a randomized design to show how interventions can be delivered in the classroom.  They both focused on making sure they were implemented properly and that teachers received the support they needed to help kids in the classroom.  It isn’t just about writing a manual, it’s about making sure teachers know how to deliver it.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29998740

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29939056

 

Posted on

Clinical trials talk with Tom Frazier from Autism Speaks

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This week, a special surprise:  a conversation with Dr. Thomas Frazier, Chief Science Officer of Autism Speaks, on what is needed for better clinical trials for drug treatments for ASD, and what they are going to be doing to help move the science along.  Of course, the conversation hit on other topics, like disclosure of a diagnosis, sex differences, and some of the newest more exciting findings in autism research.

Posted on

An ode to rats as animal models for autism

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This week, the lab of Dr. Jill Silverman at UC Davis published a study that showed the most similar types of social communication deficits in an animal model.  Her group, led by Elizabeth Berg, used a rat model, rather than a mouse, because rats exhibit both receptive and expressive communication.  Through a collaboration within the UC Davis MIND Institute and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, she tested an animal model of autism that shows a lack of expression of SHANK3.  SHANK3 mutations are seen in those with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome as well as in 1% of people with autism.  This new study opens up new ways to understand autism symptoms in an animal model, and moves autism research using animals forward significantly.   The references mentioned in the podcast are:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29377611

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29126394

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27189882

Posted on

The causes of social communication deficits in ASD

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This week, former ASF fellow Katherine Stavropoulos from UC Riverside and Leslie Carver published data investigating what is the core cause of social communication deficits in autism.  Do people with autism show deficits in this area because they have a lack of motivation for social cues, or are social interactions just too overwhelming on their senses?  It turns out, both are true and this has direct implications for intervention methods.  Also, parents and siblings of people with autism show subtle symptoms of ASD without having a diagnosis.  This is called the broader autism phenotype, and a study by the Study to Explore Early Development led by Dr. Eric Rubenstein, demonstrated that parents of children with a particular group of symptoms are more likely to show this phenotype than other groupings.  You can read the full studies here:

 

https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-018-0189-5

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29376397

 

Posted on

What is the can do vs. the will do of autism?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Often overlooked in intervention studies, it is becoming increasingly clearer that adaptive behavior, the “will do” vs. the “can do” of functioning, should receive more focus.  In people with autism and high IQ, cognitive ability, the “can do” is higher than adaptive behavior, the “will do”.  Why?  The key in new research from the National Institutes of Health may be social abilities.  Another study this week from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in adult  with high IQ demonstrates that social motivation may be the key to improving social skills and socialization in people with ASD.

Posted on

Parents are people too

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Sometimes parents get a bad rap for not having autism themselves, or not being in touch with the challenges of autistic adults.  This week’s ASF Podcast highlights two new studies on the role parents play in science, research and understanding racial disparities.  A group in the United Kingdom released the results of a survey across Europe which examined parent perceptions on early autism research (think infants and toddlers) and how researchers could better help families at this stage.  Another study from researchers in Georgia and Connecticut revealed how important parents (and clinicians) can be in reducing the disparity in diagnosis between black and white children in the US.  Finally, a call to unite over a common challenge: employment.  If you have not done so already, please make your voice heard as a parent, autistic adult, employer or service provider on a survey gauging the needs of the entire autism community around employment.  http://www.lernerlab.com/employmentsurvey.html 

 

Here are the references used in this podcast:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4230972/ 

https://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/docs/as_science_planning_survey_final_pdf_0.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29126359

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29100475

 

Posted on

It’s not about THC, it’s about CBD (cannabinoids)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Parents of children with seizures are desperate to find something that will at the very least reduce the frequency of seizures in their kids.  Answers came in an unlikely place two months ago with the publication of a randomized clinical trial showing that seizures could be reduced with use of cannabinoids in kids with a condition called Dravet’s Syndrome.  Cannabinoids are one of the chemicals found in marijuana, and there are anecdotal reports on the use of marijuana or cannabinoids to treat autism.  Unlike THC, CBD (cannabinoids) do not cause euphoria or any psychoactive effects and are used exclusively for medicinal reasons.  This podcast summarizes current literature and also explains why it is so hard to study cannabinoids, including federal and state regulations and what needs to happen to open up this field of science