Infant's Gaze May Be an Early, but Subtle, Marker for Autism Risk

/PRNewswire/ -- Kennedy Krieger Institute announced today new study results showing an early marker for later communication and social delays in infants at a higher-risk for autism may be infrequent gazing at other people when unprompted. Published in the September issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the study also found that six-month-old high-risk infants demonstrated the same level of cause and effect learning skills when compared to low-risk infants of the same age.

The study observed 25 infant siblings of children with autism (high-risk group) and 25 infants with no family history of autism (low-risk group) at six months of age in order to assess cause and effect learning as well as social engagement. Infant siblings of children with autism are considered at high-risk for the disorder, as they are 25 times more likely to develop autism. Researchers at Kennedy Krieger, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Delaware, created a novel, multi-stimuli social learning task, where infants were seated in a custom chair with an attached joystick within easy reach, a musical toy located to the right and their caregiver on the left. Researchers evaluated how quickly the infant learned that the joystick activated the toy and the infant's level of social engagement with their caregiver.

Researchers found that, like the low-risk group, the high-risk siblings exhibited typical levels of social gazing when their caregivers actively engaged them, such as pointing at the toy and expressing excitement. However, high-risk sibs spent less time looking to their caregivers and more time fixated on the non-social stimuli (toy or joystick) when the caregiver was not engaging them, which could indicate a disruption in development related to joint attention. Joint attention is often a core deficit for children with autism.

"My colleagues and I wanted to create a task that would involve learning something novel and would give babies an opportunity to pay attention to either an object or their caregiver," said Dr. Rebecca Landa, corresponding study author and director of Kennedy Krieger's Center for Autism and Related Disorders. "This study shows that there is a particular vulnerability in high-risk siblings at six months of age. They are not as socially interactive and engaged on their own as their peers, but still respond typically when engaged by their caregivers, making for a subtle difference that could be easily overlooked by both parents and some professionals."

The study also showed no evidence of impaired associative learning in the high-risk siblings. Both groups demonstrated cause and effect learning abilities; once the infants learned that pulling the joystick activated the toy, they increased how often they pulled on the joystick to activate the toy's music. This finding supports past research demonstrating that associative learning is a relative strength in older individuals with autism and may help to explain why children with autism respond well to teaching approaches that utilize a predictable reward system when children exhibit desired behaviors.

"Babies in both groups of the study learned the multi-stimuli task to the same degree," said Dr. Landa. "While the high-risk siblings are at a higher risk for developing autism later in life, they still have the capacity to learn cause and effect as well as their low-risk peers at this young age."

Implications from the overall study findings reveal that like older children, infants at high risk for autism may benefit from frequent exposure to simple cause and effect learning opportunities to aid in their development. For example, Landa recommends using simple songs paired with easy, predictable gestures to promote language and social learning, rather than using electronic toys that children can enjoy and operate without engaging with their peers or caregivers.

It is expected that about 20 percent of the high-risk infants in this study will receive a diagnosis of autism. While participants in this study have not yet reached their third birthday, the age at which the research diagnoses are confirmed, the study findings help to highlight the vulnerability of developing social initiation skills in high-risk infants. This study is the first of its kind, and a follow-up will soon be published from the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute.

The research study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Mental Health.

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Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Common Blood Disorder May Not be Linked to as Many Serious Diseases, as Previously Thought

A symptomless blood disorder, monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, known as MGUS, is not linked to as many serious diseases as previously thought. This finding may save patients from undergoing unnecessary workup and treatment according to a study published in the August 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

MGUS has long been thought to be a precursor of serious disease, such as multiple myeloma, primary amyloidosis and Waldenström macroglobulinemia. However, for years physicians have reported possible association of MGUS with many more diseases. As a result, some patients with MGUS who had these disorders were subjected to investigations and sometimes additional treatments as a precaution.

MGUS is a fairly common disorder, affecting roughly 3 percent of the U.S. population. This study was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Public Health Service.

In this study, researchers looked at the records of 17,398 patients, all of whom were uniformly tested for the presence or absence of MGUS. Among the 17,398 samples tested, 605 cases of MGUS were identified. The researchers then looked at the incidence of over 16,000 different diagnosis codes in those with MGUS and those without. They identified 14 real disease associations, while 61 disease associations with MGUS were determined to be likely coincidental.

In addition to multiple myeloma, the associations deemed real include vertebral and hip fractures and osteoporosis. "In addition to the article, we have made available on the journal Web site an appendix that has the raw data on all 16,062 hospital diagnosis codes which we think will be valuable to other researchers in the field," says S. Vincent Rajkumar, M.D., of Mayo Clinic's Department of Hematology and senior author on the study.

A peer-review journal, Mayo Clinic Proceedings publishes original articles and reviews dealing with clinical and laboratory medicine, clinical research, basic science research and clinical epidemiology. Mayo Clinic Proceedings is published monthly by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research as part of its commitment to the medical education of physicians. The journal has been published for more than 80 years and has a circulation of 130,000 nationally and internationally. Articles are available online at www.mayoclinicproceedings.com.
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Investigators at the Atlanta Institute of Medicine & Research Are Seeking Adults Who Stutter for Clinical Research Study

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Men and women who stutter often have so much to say but they may not always say it the way they want. As part of a new clinical study at the Atlanta Institute of Medicine & Research in the Atlanta area, researchers led by Dr. Angelo Sambunaris will test whether pagoclone, an investigational medication for stuttering, may offer a way to achieve more fluent speech. To determine whether you or someone you know may qualify for the study, please visit www.StutteringStudy.com or call 866-469-0444.

Stuttering is a speaking disorder affecting an estimated three million Americans – approximately one percent of the population. It can cause high levels of social anxiety in individuals, particularly in speaking situations, and affects four times as many men as women. Stuttering is often characterized by interruptions in the flow of speech by repetition of syllables, prolongation of sounds or unplanned stoppages. The cause is not clearly understood and varies among individuals. Some research in the last decade suggests that stuttering may result from disruption to the brain’s speech pathway during earlier developmental years.

“Stuttering can have a tremendous impact on a person’s life: their social functioning, their occupational achievement,” said Dr. Gerald A. Maguire, a lead investigator of the pagoclone stuttering study and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. “The treatment challenge for the future is not only to improve fluency, but to reduce the individual’s anxiety and avoidances of certain feared speaking situations.”

Pagoclone was originally developed and investigated as a potential treatment for generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. During the clinical study, it was observed that a few participants with a history of stuttering experienced less stuttering while taking the investigational drug.

Safety and efficacy data from a previous pagoclone clinical trial for people who stutter were presented at the 2008 National Stuttering Association meeting as well as to the Oxford Dysfluency meeting in England. This new research study is designed to determine whether adults treated with the investigational medication, pagoclone, experience a reduction in the number of stuttered syllables compared to those administered a placebo (an inactive medication or “sugar pill”).

“As the largest support organization for people who stutter, the National Stuttering Association advocates research into effective treatment for stuttering,” said Jim McClure, media relations director for the association. “While we do not endorse specific treatments, we are excited about the prospect of a future medication that may help some people who stutter improve their fluency which in turn may help the individual to gain self-confidence.”

Dr. Maguire said, “If this study is successful, future investigations may combine study medication with speech therapy to determine whether that will lead to better results.”

Approximately 330 people who stutter will be enrolled to receive either pagoclone or a placebo. The research study will require six office visits and four telephone check-ins over an eight-month period. At the end of the eight-month treatment period, participants have an option to choose to continue in an extension of the study in which all participants will receive the investigational medication, pagoclone, for approximately 12 months. All study-related doctor’s visits, procedures and study medication will be provided at no cost. The participants may receive compensation for travel-related expenses.

To be eligible for the current pagoclone clinical study, participants must be between the ages of 18 and 80 and have a history of stuttering prior to the age of eight. All adults must be English speaking with an eighth grade education level and meet additional eligibility requirements. Details are available at www.StutteringStudy.com or by phoning 866-469-0444.

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Alte Biosciences Files Patent for New Inflammatory Bowel Disease Drugs

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alte Bioscience, Inc., a development stage pharmaceutical company, is pleased to announce the filing of a provisional patent for a new class of drugs that may benefit patients with inflammatory bowel disease. This is the latest in a series of pharmaceutical inventions held by Alte Biosciences, adding to its portfolio of patents of drugs for the treatment of late onset depression and innovative systems for drug delivery, packaging, and manufacturing. The composition of matter in the new filing was discovered in collaboration with PharmaDirections, Inc.

Dr. Richard Soltero and Dr. Bruce Rehlaender of PharmaDirections are the co-inventors on the patent application entitled “A COMPOSITION AND METHOD FOR THE TREATMENT OF A GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDER.” PharmaDirections, under contract to Alte Biosciences, developed these innovative molecules to treat inflammatory bowel disease, (IBD) - a chronic syndrome that afflicts the digestive tract and is usually defined by an uncontrolled inflammatory response at the gut epithelial layer. Each molecule consists of two mutual pro-drugs that release medicines that are well known in the treatment of IBD. PharmaDirections will develop specialized formulations to deliver these molecules in ways that will improve their anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and cytoprotective properties.

“We are pleased that our research efforts resulted in the identification of new chemical entitles that have the potential to benefit patients with inflammatory bowel disease,” stated Dr. Thomas Colatsky, CSO of Alte Biosciences. “Our ability to harness the talent and skills of PharmaDirections’ scientific staff in our pipeline development efforts has paid significant dividends, as evidenced by this latest discovery.”

Inflammatory bowel disease affects nearly 2 million people worldwide, and has two recognized manifestations: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Crohn’s disease, also known as regional enteritis, can occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus. Most commonly, it is found in the terminal ileum/proximal colon and is characterized by distinct ulcerations that run deep into the epithelial tissue. Ulcerative colitis is only found in the colon, with the greatest majority of patients exhibiting effects in the terminal colon. The patent filed by Alte Biosciences claims separate compositions of matter for treating each of these disease states. These treatments offer the possibility of improved efficacy by targeting drug to the sites of inflammation, while reducing the prevalence of gastrointestinal side effects associated with current treatments.

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Problems with Boniva, Actonel & Fosamax

Many are taking Fosamax, Boniva and other similar drugs designed to stave off osteoporosis. Here's two articles we encourage you to read:

Fosamax, Boniva & Actonel Linked To Jaw Bone Disorders

http://injury-law.freeadvice.com/drug-toxic_chemicals/fosamax-linked-to-jaw-bone-disorders.htm

Merck Braces for Flood of Fosamax Lawsuits
Osteoporosis Medication Can Destroy Patients' Jawbones

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/02/fosamax.html