New This Week on NASET

Brain Scans May Predict Language Skills in Kids With Autism

Sophisticated imaging tests could provide clues to how well a child with an autism spectrum disorder may develop language skills, possibly as early as when the child is just a year old, a new study suggests. "We discovered that at the very first signs of autism in infants and toddlers, language-important brain regions already displayed striking differences between those who later had good versus poor language outcomes," said study co-author Eric Courchesne, a professor of neurosciences and co-director of the Autism Center of Excellence at the University of California, San Diego. The findings also revealed brain differences of two possible subtypes of autism, one "language-learning ready" and one not, he said. "The two subtypes likely have different causes, mechanisms, processes, language-learning potential and treatment-responsiveness potential," Courchesne said. To read more,click here

Senate Plan Retains Testing Cap For Students With Disabilities

A bipartisan plan to reshape the nation's primary education law would maintain strict limits on the number of students with disabilities taking less rigorous tests. After months of negotiation, the top Republican and Democrat on the U.S. Senate education committee released a joint proposal this week to update the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known as No Child Left Behind. The Senate education panel is slated to consider the bill next week. Currently, students with severe cognitive disabilities are allowed to take alternate assessments in lieu of the general, grade-level tests mandated for most children. However, only 1 percent of all students - or about 10 percent of those with disabilities - may be counted as proficient by schools for taking alternate exams. To read more,click here

Women Born Early at Greater Risk of Delivering Preemies, Study Suggests

Women who were born prematurely may be more likely to deliver their own babies early, a new study suggests. Canadian researchers found that the odds of delivering a preterm infant -- born before 37 weeks of pregnancy -- rose more than 40 percent for women who were born between 32 and 36 weeks themselves, regardless of other risk factors. What's more, the earlier in pregnancy a woman had been born, the higher the risk of a similar fate for her offspring. "We don't know whether it's a genetic cause or something that's set differently in a woman because she was born preterm, or if it's a combination of both," said study author Dr. Anne-Monique Nuyt, head of the division of neonatology at Sainte-Justine University Hospital and Research Center in Montreal. To read more,click here

Fewer U.S. Children Getting Melanoma: Study

The incidence of deadly melanoma skin cancer is falling among American children, a new study finds. Researchers led by Dr. Lisa Campbell, of Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center in Cleveland, looked at national cancer registry data from 2000 to 2010. They found that the overall number of new melanoma cases among children fell 12 percent each year from 2004 to 2010. The reasons? Campbell's team cited effective public outreach on the danger of UV rays from the sun or tanning beds, more kids playing indoors rather than outdoors and a rise in parental awareness of the importance of sunscreen and other sun-protective measures. To read more,click here

Mom Ticketed After Son With Autism Wanders Off

When a 4-year-old boy with autism wandered away from home, his mother got more than she bargained for when police returned him. Kaava Watson, 31, said her son, Walter, disappeared last Thursday evening when she went to answer the telephone. Watson told KETV that she went to look for the boy - who has a history of wandering - and called police when she couldn't find him near their Omaha, Neb. home. Meanwhile, however, 911 dispatchers received a separate report of an unaccompanied child on a nearby street. To read more,click here

Asthma Rates Similar Among Black Children in Urban, Rural Areas: Study

Asthma rates are essentially identical among black children living in Detroit and rural Georgia, researchers report. The finding challenges the common belief that living in a city boosts the chances of developing the respiratory condition, the study authors said.

Instead, poverty may be what increases asthma risk, the study results suggested. "The things these children have in common include high rates of poverty, asthma and being black," corresponding study author Dr. Dennis Ownby, an allergist-immunologist at the Medical College of Georgia, said in a college news release. To read more,click here

Children with Neurological Disorders Need Flu Vaccine but Don't Always Get It

Children who have neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy or epilepsy are no more likely to be vaccinated against influenza than youngsters without these conditions, despite the increased risk for complications from flu these children experience. Moreover, health care providers may not be familiar with the increased risk among these patients to effectively recommend influenza vaccine.To read more,click here

Migraine Drug May Up Risk of Eating Disorders in Some Teens

A new report has linked a migraine medication to increased odds of eating disorders in some teens. The drug in question is called topiramate (Topamax). It's an established migraine drug for adults that was just approved for use in teens in 2014. Appetite reduction and weight loss are common side effects of the drug, according to the report authors. "For most kids, it's a great medicine, but for a handful of kids the weight loss can trigger symptoms of an eating disorder," said report author Jocelyn Lebow, a child and adolescent psychologist for the eating disorders treatment program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. To read more,click here

Rates of ADHD Appear to Decrease at Higher Altitudes

Recent research has linked the thin air of higher elevations to increased rates of depression and suicide. But a new study shows there's also good news from up in the aspens and pines: The prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) decreases substantially as altitude increases.In Utah, for example, an analysis of information from two national health surveys correlated with the average state elevation of 6,100 feet showed that the rate of diagnosed ADHD cases is about 50 percent of states at sea level. In Salt Lake City, whose elevation is about 4,300 feet, diagnosed ADHD prevalence is approximately 38 percent less than at sea level. To read more,click here

In Rare Cases, Kids Can Get Food Allergies From Donated Blood

The case of an 8-year-old Canadian boy suggests that it's possible, but still rare, for children to get food allergies from blood transfusions. The boy developed an allergy to fish and peanuts after receiving a transfusion from a donor with severe allergies to these foods, reports a team led by Dr. Julia Upton, of The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He was treated promptly for the allergic reactions, and the allergies went away on their own within a few months, the researchers noted. In the April 7 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Upton's team explains that blood donors with food allergies can transfer an allergy-triggering antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) in blood products such as platelets. To read more,click here

Study of Brain Networks Shows Differences in Children with OCD

Communication between some of the brain's most important centers is altered in children with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a new study shows. The results are highly consistent with observations in the clinic, said a researcher. "Children with OCD are beset by preoccupations and can't easily move on from certain tasks and behaviors. As all complex behavior arises from brain networks, being trapped in this mode must arise from impaired brain network interactions in OCD. In our previous studies we had focused on assessing the structure and the neurochemistry of the anterior cingulate. We had long suspected that brain network interactions originating in this region are impaired in the disorder. But this is the first study to clearly demonstrate this."To read more,click here

Placenta Test Measures Babies' Exposure to Arsenic

A pregnant woman's placenta can reliably measure exposure to the toxic metal arsenic in both the mother and her unborn baby, new research finds. "Our findings show placental arsenic concentrations reflect both maternal and fetal biomarker concentrations," said the study's lead author, Tracy Punshon, a research assistant professor of biological sciences at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. Arsenic, a carcinogen, occurs naturally in soil, water and air. Previous research has shown that it crosses the placenta and may affect fetal development, according to background notes with the study. Contaminated well water is one source of arsenic exposure. To read more,click here

Bullying by Students with Disabilities Reduced by Social-Emotional Learning

Peer victimization -- bullying -- declined 20 percent among students with disabilities who participated in Second Step social-emotional learning curricula, authors of a new study report. More than 120 students with disabilities at two school districts in the Midwest United States participated in the research, which was part of a larger three-year clinical trial of the widely used social-emotional learning curricula Second Step.To read more,click here

Teens Seen in ERs for Assault at Risk for Later Gun Violence: Study

New research suggests that the emergency room might be a good place to try to end the vicious cycle of gun violence among young adults. "This study shows that youth seen and treated in urban emergency departments for an assault also have an elevated risk for severe forms of violence, including firearm violence, over the next two years," Dr. Patrick Carter, an assistant professor of emergency medicine and member of the University of Michigan Injury Center, said in a university news release. These teens and young adults are nearly 60 percent more likely to be involved in a future incident involving a firearm, the researchers reported. To read more,click here

Non-Invasive Technique Allows Amputee to Use Bionic Hand, Powered by His Thoughts

A research team from the University of Houston has created an algorithm that allowed a man to grasp a bottle and other objects with a prosthetic hand, powered only by his thoughts.The technique, demonstrated with a 56-year-old man whose right hand had been amputated, uses non-invasive brain monitoring, capturing brain activity to determine what parts of the brain are involved in grasping an object. With that information, researchers created a computer program, or brain-machine interface (BMI), that harnessed the subject's intentions and allowed him to successfully grasp objects, including a water bottle and a credit card. The subject grasped the selected objects 80 percent of the time using a high-tech bionic hand fitted to the amputee's stump. To read more,click here

Large-Scale Study To Look For Causes of ASD

Kaiser Permanente is about to begin what is believed to be the largest genetic research project ever conducted by a health organization into the causes of autism, gathering biological and other health information from 5,000 Northern California families who have a child with the developmental disorder. Scientists have long suspected that autism results from a combination of genetics and environmental factors, but no one knows for sure. They hope a study of this size will reveal the root causes that could eventually lead to improved diagnoses and new treatments. To read more,click here

Federal Government Calls For Expanded Mental Health Coverage

Federal officials want Medicaid to beef up access to mental health care for individuals with disabilities and other beneficiaries. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is proposing new regulations that would require Medicaid to cover mental health services at the same level as other medical and surgical services. The rule would hold Medicaid to the standard established under a federal law requiring mental health parity that was passed in 2008. Similar regulations issued in 2013 already require most private health insurance plans to cover mental health services at the same level as physical ailments in accordance with the parity law. To read more,click here