Washington D.C., June 11, 2015 - A study published in the June 2015 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry demonstrates that the atypical trajectory of cortical/brain development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) extends well beyond young childhood and into late adolescence and young adulthood. A considerable amount of work has focused on early structural brain development in ASD utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This body of work has revealed evidence for brain overgrowth during the early postnatal years that appears ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass--An MIT team has developed a way of making soft materials, using a 3-D printer, with surface textures that can then be modified at will to be perfectly smooth, or ridged or bumpy, or even to have complex patterns that could be used to guide fluids. The process, developed using detailed computer simulations, involves a material that is composed of two different polymers with different degrees of stiffness: More rigid particles are embedded within a matrix of a more flexible polymer. When squeezed, the material's surface changes from smooth to a pattern ...

June 11, 2015 - The well-known "fight or flight" response is part of the inborn series of defense/fear responses activated in reaction to threats. Understanding the steps of the defense cascade can help in forming effective treatments for patients dealing with persistent aftereffects of trauma, according to a review in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. Child and adolescent psychiatrist Kasia Kozlowska of The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia, and colleagues explain the five steps of the defense cascade, in a framework ...

In a study that seems to defy conventional dietary wisdom, University of Iowa scientists have found that adding high salt to a high-fat diet actually prevents weight gain in mice. As exciting as this may sound to fast food lovers, the researchers caution that very high levels of dietary salt are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease in humans. Rather than suggest that a high salt diet is suddenly a good thing, the researchers say these findings really point to the profound effect non-caloric dietary nutrients can have on energy balance and weight gain. "People ...

This news release is available in German. Small heat shock proteins ensure that other proteins do not clot, allowing the cell to survive stress. Defects in these "small helpers" are associated with medical conditions like cataracts and cancer. Now, scientists at the Technische Universität München (TUM) have characterized a small heat shock protein responsible for embryonic development in the Caenorhabditis elegans nematode. Presumably, a similar protein exists also in humans. Like humans, cells often face catastrophic situations. Even though cells are ...

PETALUMA, California--A recent study published in the journal Conservation Biology makes a strong case for a new approach to conservation planning that uses much more robust data sets in order to better protect birds, plants, and animals. The concept is fairly simple, but won't work unless scientists can agree to share data across studies. "Right now, we primarily only use presence and absence data for species when conservation planning for large landscapes. Much of this is due to the cost and time of collecting more comprehensive data," said the study's lead author, ...

Cuckoo finches in Africa have adopted a unique disguise to help them lay their eggs in other birds' nests, biologists have found. The cuckoo finch in Zambia has evolved to be almost indistinguishable from common and harmless female weaver birds, such as the southern red bishop, said Dr William Feeney, from The Australian National University (ANU). "The cuckoo finch is so similar to the innocent bishops, that the target of the trickery, the tawny-flanked prinia, cannot tell them apart," said Dr Feeney, who did his PhD at the ANU Research School of Biology before taking ...

Stem cells are especially sensitive to oxygen radicals and antioxidants shows new research from the group of Anu Wartiovaara in the Molecular Neurology Research Program of University of Helsinki. The research led by researcher Riikka Martikainen was published in Cell Reports -journal May 28th 2015. Mitochondria are cellular power plants that use oxygen to produce energy. As a by-product they produce reactive oxygen. Excessive oxygen radicals may cause damage to cells but they are needed in small quantities as important cellular signaling molecules. One of their main ...

A team of Swedish researchers finds that early cardiopulmonary resuscitation more than doubles the chance of survival for patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The percentage of patients who receive life-saving resuscitation has also increased substantially thanks to so-called SMS Lifesavers. These results are published simultaneously in two studies in the highly reputed New England Journal of Medicine. The two studies were conducted by researchers at the Center for Resuscitation Science at Karolinska Institutet and Södersjukhuset (Stockholm South General ...

A paper published today in the International Journal of Epidemiology confirms a link between peanut and nut intake and lower mortality rates, but finds no protective effect for peanut butter. Men and women who eat at least 10 grams of nuts or peanuts per day have a lower risk of dying from several major causes of death than people who don't consume nuts or peanuts. The reduction in mortality was strongest for respiratory disease, neurodegenerative disease, and diabetes, followed by cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The effects are equal in men and women. Peanuts show ...

Rome, Italy, 11 June 2015: The results of a large population study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) showed an increased risk of developing Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) among psoriasis patients exposed to physical trauma, particularly when the trauma involved bone and/or joints. "This is the first sizable population-based cohort study to determine the risk of PsA following trauma in psoriasis patients," said Dr Thorvardur Love, senior author from Landspitali University Hospital, Iceland. "Our findings highlight the importance ...

Rome, June 11 -- The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) show that diclofenac, naproxen and etoricoxib significantly inhibit ovulation in women with mild musculoskeletal pain. Of the women receiving NSAIDs, only 6.3 percent (diclofenac), 25 percent (naproxen) and 27.3 percent (etoricoxib) ovulated, compared with 100 percent of the control group. These findings suggest that readily available non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could have a harmful effect on fertility, and should be used ...

Rome, Italy, 11 June 2015: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that a diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) can be predicted by low birth weight, having older siblings and hospitalisation for infection between the ages of 5-16 years. These data suggest that these factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. AS is a painful and progressive form of arthritis caused by chronic inflammation of the joints in the spine. Prevalence of AS varies globally, ...

Rome, Italy, 11 June 2015: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) demonstrated the value of a new interactive iPad app that helps young people with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) describe their pain. Almost all of the children preferred the new digital tool, aptly titled 'This Feeling', to other conventional methods and felt it was an interesting and engaging way to communicate about their experiences of pain.1 "It is vital for children and young people to be able to communicate about their pain ...

Rome, Italy, 11 June 2015: The results of a study presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015) Press Conference showed that people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have a unique bacterial signature in their colon, when compared with healthy people. These findings suggest that changes in the gut ecology could contribute to the clinical symptoms of SSc, and could be used to diagnose the condition, and in the development of alternative treatments. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease affecting multiple organs. Up to 90% ...

Rome, June 11 -- New recommendations by EULAR for women's health and pregnancy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and/or antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) were presented today at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2015). Developed by expert consensus, these evidence-based recommendations provide crucial guidance to support family planning, assisted reproduction, pregnancy and the menopause in these patients. 'APS and SLE disproportionately affect women, typically starting when they are at their most fertile, and leaving women ...

The constant movement of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be distracting -- but the fidgeting also may improve their cognitive performance, a study by researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute has found. The study of pre-teens and teenagers with ADHD examined how movement -- its intensity and frequency -- correlated with accuracy on cognitively demanding tasks requiring good attention. It found that participants who moved more intensely exhibited substantially better cognitive performance. The study, "A trial-by-trial analysis reveals ...

Researchers studying banded mongooses in Uganda have discovered that these small mammals are able to discriminate between relatives and non-relatives to avoid inbreeding even when mating within their own closely related social group. Inbreeding can be a big problem for social species such as banded mongooses because they grow up in social groups consisting mainly of close relatives. This study is the first to suggest that social animals are able to avoid the costs of inbreeding without relying on un-related mating partners from other social groups. Dr Jennifer Sanderson, ...

Main Findings: Lung cancer patients with comorbid conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, or congestive heart failure had a higher risk of death than lung cancer patients without comorbid conditions. Journal in Which the Study was Published: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research Author: K.M. Monirul Islam, MD, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health Background: Lung cancer is the leading ...

A new study published today by the scientific journal Addiction finds that in England, children's exposure to second-hand smoke has declined by approximately 80% since 1998. Also, an emerging social norm in England has led to the adoption of smoke-free homes not only when parents are non-smokers but also when they smoke. The proportion of children living in a home reported to be smoke-free increased from 63% in 1998 to 87.3% in 2012. The study gathered data from over 35,000 children who participated in the annual Health Survey for England (HSE) from 1998 to 2012. ...

Pregnant women can improve their health and even reduce the risk of complications during childbirth by maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise. Research has shown that gaining too much weight during pregnancy increases the risk of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, large babies, and delivery by caesarean section; and newborns with large birth weights are at risk of childhood obesity. An updated systematic review published in The Cochrane Library reveals that diet or exercise interventions, or a combination of both, can prevent excessive weight gain ...

Weekend screen time is linked to poorer teen bone health--but only in boys, reveals research published in the online journal BMJ Open. The apparent lack of impact of leisure screen time on teen girls' bone health may be explained by their different body fat distribution, suggest the researchers. They base their findings on participants in the Tromsø Fit Futures Study in Norway, which involved 961 of the region's 15-17 year old school pupils in 2010-11 (first wave) and 688 (66%) of this original group two years later in 2012-13 (second wave). At both time periods, ...

Aerobic exercise seems to curb the severity of asthma symptoms and improves quality of life, finds a small study published online in the journal Thorax. It should be routinely added to the drug treatment of moderate to severe asthma, suggest the researchers, who point out that people with asthma often avoid exercise for fear of triggering symptoms. Exercise has been recommended in the past for asthma patients, because it improves physical fitness, overall quality of life, and reduces the need for inhalers. But it has not been clear whether the pros outweigh the cons. The ...

Pyrazine additives in low tar ('light') and e-cigarettes may be reinforcing the addictive qualities of nicotine, and should be strictly regulated, concludes research published online in the journal Tobacco Control. The evidence suggests that pyrazines have sensory and pharmacological effects which act independently of, and in tandem with, nicotine, and were developed by the tobacco industry to make low tar ('light') cigarettes taste richer and smoother, and boost sales. Nicotine dependence is a complex process, but is primarily caused by the ability of nicotine to prompt ...

Sexual assault resistance training works, according to a new University of Windsor-led study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. While only those who commit acts of sexual violence can stop sexual assault, women may be able to reduce the likelihood that they will be the victim of a completed rape. To use a medical analogy, there is not much we can do about pathogens such as bacteria or viruses already in our environment, but we can take steps to boost our immune system so we can better resist these pathogens when we come into contact with them. This ...