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The Importance of Model Systems

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Animal models of autism, including cell based models, have received criticism because autism is a uniquely human condition so there is no value in studying it in a model like a mouse or a cell. On the other hand, model systems have been used for decades to develop therapies for a myraid of other conditions and disorders, and produced evidence-based treatments for not just autism but conditions from ADHD to schizophrenia. So why is there so much backlash about this line of research? The ASF podcast talks to Jill Silverman at UC Davis to get some perspective.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35285132

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/377739/autism-research-mice-lab-models

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The good, the bad and the ugly about medication use in ASD

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This week’s podcast summarizes recent evidence on why there is good and bad in treating autism with medication, but there is also lots of ugly.  While new medications are being developed and researchers are looking into new ways of measuring change across time time, medications are not effective in treating the core symptoms of autism and they have pretty harsh side effects which, you guessed it, are dealt with by prescribing more medications.  There are a lot of reasons to be hopeful about the future of medication use in autism, but lots of reasons to feel frustrated too.

 

Here are some of the articles that were cited:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23101743

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25885012

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5520775/

 

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Treatments for social reward in autism: inject it, snort it, or possibly smoke it.

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This week saw two new studies on the “love hormone” called oxytocin.  In the first, the IV drip for oxytocin is replaced by a nasal spray.  The results are mild and focused on one type of symptom, but exciting and promising nonetheless.  The second study investigated how oxytocin works in the brain and shows how it interacts with a chemical called anandamide in a region activated by sex, drugs and food.  This may explain why people find social reward pleasurable.  It lays the groundwork for other compounds which may enhance social reward, but more studies are needed.   Finally, a short recap last week’s podcast where High Risk Baby Siblings researchers are finding that the range of possible issues that kids at risk have isn’t focused just on autism symptoms.