Posted on

The Importance of Model Systems

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

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

Posted on

What’s the latest on minocycline for autism?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This week’s podcast re-explores a question about a potential therapy for autism – minocycline. Minocycline is an antibiotic used to treat a number of different infections and some anecdotal reports have linked it to an improvement of autism. This has led to some experimental trials on minocycline, with inconclusive results. This week, a multisite study showed NO effects of minocycline for autism features or outcomes, but that doesn’t mean it is NOT a great antibotic. If you need it, use it! Also, do autistic people spend too much time on their screens? Well, they seem to spend more time on devices and screens, but it might all be bad. Listen to the podcast for more information on this.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-023-06132-1

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10709772/?report=printable

Posted on

Nobody ever talks about catatonia

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Nobody ever talks about catatonia in autism. This podcast explores the symptoms of catatonia, how to measure it, what parents should know about tracking the symptoms, what the treatments are, and what the causes are. Dr. Martine Lamy from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital explains her work looking at genetic causes in those with catatonia and neurodevelopmental disorders. It’s important to do genetic testing on all individuals who present with catatonia because this information led to better treatments in some people. Identifying a genetic cause of not just catatonia but also neurodevelopmental disorders like ASD gives families a community but also allows them to identify more targeted interventions.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37864080/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37642312/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36708735/

https://globalgenes.org/rare-disease-patient-services/

Posted on

New ways to solve old problems

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This week’s podcast focuses on innovative methodologies to understand how to reach black families, understand why and when autistic people prefer not to look at faces and how interventions can improve conversation and social communication. They use culturally and racially matched mentors, old home video tapes (keep taking those!) and machine learning to look not just at novel methods but novel ways of studying a particular outcome.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35232271/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35228613/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35229983/

Posted on

How do parents choose different interventions?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Parents have choices of dozens of different autism interventions, available in private and public settings.  A new study explores factors which influence parents decisions on different interventions, how they are similar to each other and different.  They include cognitive ability of their kids with ASD and economic resources.  Parents in the US may have similarities in how they obtain interventions, but they are also similar in how they identify autism signs in their preschool kids, and these similarities are seen across the world.  In a new study of over 19,000 preschoolers with autism, some similarities are seen in parent reported symptoms of ASD across 24 different countries.  This is pretty remarkable given societal, geographical, and cultural issues.  But it’s not all harmony and unity – there were lots of differences between parents and teachers which can have enormous impact on how autism is diagnosed worldwide.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30990248

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30995081

 

Posted on

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

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/

 

Posted on

Oxytocin: hitting a small nail with a giant sledgehammer?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

This week’s podcast is inspired by a new study in PNAS thatlooked at the role of methylation of the oxytocin receptor in social behavior in people without autism.  Together with studies of the brains of people with autism, it suggests that filling the brains with oxytocin may not be the best approach for treating social impairments.  Instead, compounds that turn on or turn off the genes that control oxytocin may be more appropriate, and it also may help explain variability in why some people respond to oxytocin treatment, and why others do not.   Also, scientific technology has a new way of studying the influence of the environment on brain development.

Posted on

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

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.

Posted on

The sad realities behind educational services and ASD

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Whoops, Donald Trump did it again.  During the Republican debates, comments around vaccines and autism were made that could cause more confusion.  This at a time when the matter should be settled in the minds of the public.  ASF president Alison Singer comments on what people should know.  Also, a new analysis examines the types of services people with developmental delay and ASD receive in the educational system.  Here’s a not-surprising sneak peak:  they are getting less than they deserve and have to go elsewhere despite laws stating otherwise.  Finally, an older drug for depression, called Effexor, may both relieve behavioral problems associated with ASD and lower the doses of anti anxiety drugs and antipsychotic drugs needed to calm irritability and aggression.