Health News

Autism's Perplexing Puzzle
Researchers are using a new MRI technology to study the anatomical differences in the brains of people with Autism compared with the brains of people without Autism.
One Step Closer to Understanding Autism
The causes and risk factors of autism spectrum disorders remain largely unknown. Be that as it may, researchers recently uncovered new information about the genetic roots of the disorders.
Serotonin's Profile Expands
The neurotransmitter serotonin -- known for providing a sense of well-being and contentment in humans and implicated in depression and other psychiatric disorders -- has been shown to play a role in autism.
Autism Speaks Getting Louder
The Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health are teaming up with Autism Speaks, the largest autism advocacy group in the world to try to figure out why Somali children living in Minneapolis, MN are disproportionately suffering from autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
Massages for Autism
In the search for alternative treatments for autism, massage has surfaced as favored therapy. However, a new study shows that the evidence supporting the efficacy of massage therapy tends to be unreliable.
Bad Medicine
The question of whether autism can be caused by vaccination with the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine can be put to bed once again, and the answer is still 'no.' In 1998, the British medical journal The Lancet published a paper by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues titled “Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children”. It looked at a population of twelve children who had simultaneously developed a bowel disorder, nine of whom also had symptoms of autism, and suggested that both sets of symptoms occurred after the ...
X Marks the Spot
A new drug is being tested for use in people with Fragile X syndrome, in which patients exhibit impaired behavioral and mental capabilities, very similar to autism.
Making Connections
The brain consists of a complex web of connections. In order for people to integrate and synthesize information from various parts of the brain, brain cells create long-distance links between one another.