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From the Desk of Rick Rollens:
What a total waste of time and money. Is this 2007 or 1967? While Rome burns, the autism epidemic rages, thousands of children suffer, NIH continues to throw good money after bad to further the careers of researchers who should have been put out to pasture years ago. Not one of these studies will help a single child, nor will it get us any closer to finding out the causes and developing effective treatments and a cure for our kids. Scientific masturbation is alive and well. rick
NIH FUNDS NEW PROGRAM TO INVESTIGATE CAUSES AND TREATMENT OF AUTISM
The National Institutes of Health will intensify its efforts to find the
causes of autism and identify new treatments for the disorder, through a new
research program.
The Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) program represents a consolidation of
two existing programs, the Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment
(STAART) and Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism (CPEA) programs
into a single research effort.
"The consolidation was needed to capitalize on the gains made by the NIH
research effort in autism," said Elias Zerhouni, M.D., Director of the
National Institutes of Health. NIH autism program officials hope to expand
on earlier discoveries made by research previously supported by NIH.
The NIH Institutes providing funding and expertise for the effort are the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National
Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders, the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Mental
Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Autism is a complex brain disorder involving communication and social
difficulties as well as repetitive behavior or narrow interests. Autism is
often be grouped with similar disorders, all of which may be referred to
collectively as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The underlying causes of
ASD are unclear. Currently, there is no cure for the disorders and
treatments are limited.
The ACE program will encompass research centers and research networks. The
research centers will foster collaborations between teams of specialists,
who share the same facility so that they can address a particular research
problem in depth. For example, specialists in brain imaging might
collaborate with behavior researchers to determine if a particular behavior
is associated with a difference in brain structure. They might also consult
with a team of genetics experts to find a hereditary basis for their
observations.
ACE networks consist of researchers at many facilities in locations
throughout the country, all of whom work on a single research question.
Because networks encompass multiple sites, they can recruit large numbers of
volunteers with a particular disorder.
Initially, five centers and one network will receive funding in 2007 to
study ASD. Funding for a second set of ACE research programs will be
announced in 2008.
All ACE award recipients will contribute their data to the National Database
for Autism Research (NDAR). Housed at NIH, NDAR is a Web-based tool that
autism researchers around the world can use to collect and share information
on autism.
The 2007 ACE program award recipients are:
-- EDWIN H. COOK (University of Illinois at Chicago): Researchers at the
University of Illinois at Chicago ACE Center will focus on understanding the
repetitive behavior seen in ASD. Known as "insistence on sameness," this
behavior is a hallmark of ASD. Examples of insistence on sameness consist
of wanting to wear the same clothes every day, taking the same route to work
or school, or becoming fixated on certain subject matter, such as buildings
or cars. Center researchers will focus on genetic factors as well as brain
chemicals and brain functions that could account for repetitive behaviors in
people with ASD, and test whether genetic differences influence how
individuals respond to certain medications intended to reduce the occurrence
of these behaviors.
-- ERIC COURCHESNE (University of California, San Diego): Researchers at the
UCSD ACE Center also will use brain imaging to track brain development in
children believed to be at risk for autism spectrum disorders. Unlike other
ACE program projects, which will attempt to identify forerunners of ASD in
the siblings of children with ASD, the UCSD researchers will study infants
who have been referred by their physicians. The physicians will make the
referrals on the basis of a checklist of behaviors that are similar to those
of older children with ASD. The primary goal of this center is to identify
brain or other physical differences that might predispose a child to autism.
The UCSD Center will collect some of the first information ever obtained on
how the brains of very young children with autism process and respond to
information.
-- GERALDINE DAWSON (University of Washington). Researchers at the
University of Washington ACE Center will seek to identify genes and other
potential factors that may predispose an individual toward ASD, as well as
factors that might protect against them. In addition to genes, the
researchers will try to determine the risk of ASD by examining communication
difficulties, early behaviors, patterns in the sounds babies make, and brain
structure and activity patterns. Researchers will also try to determine
whether certain types of interactions between the parent and baby can
decrease the chances for ASD.
-- NANCY J. MINSHEW (University of Pittsburgh): Researchers at the
University of Pittsburgh ACE Center will study how people with ASD learn and
understand information. Research shows that the ability to organize
information into categories is critical to language development. The
Pittsburgh researchers will use brain imaging techniques to study how
infants at risk for autism and toddlers diagnosed with the disorder place
information into categories. Researchers will also use brain imaging
techniques to study which parts of the brain are activated in people with
and without ASD when processing information and emotions.
-- JOSEPH PIVEN (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill): In hopes of
identifying brain differences in children who develop ASD, researchers at
this Network of sites operating under the direction of the University of
North Carolina will use brain imaging techniques to compile images of the
brains of very young infants. Some of these children may go on to develop
ASD. Their brain images will be compared to those of other infants, to
identify differences between children who develop autism and those who do
not. While previous studies have documented the enlarged brains often seen
in ASD patients, little is known about the abnormal processes during early
brain development in children with ASD. The research could offer new
insights that lead to earlier diagnosis of ASD.
-- MARIAN D. SIGMAN (University of California, Los Angeles): Researchers at
the UCLA ACE Center will seek to understand how ASD affects the ability to
communicate. The researchers will try to find clues to language-related
communications problems by looking at genes, behavior and brain structure
and functioning. The researchers also are interested in disorders that
affect the mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are brain cells that become
active either when a person performs an action or watches the action
performed by someone else. When many patients with ASD are asked to imitate
behaviors, images of their brains show that their mirror neurons are less
active than those of other people. The researchers will try to stimulate
the mirror neurons of people with ASD by having them follow a set of
instructions to complete a task.
The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth;
maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population
issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the
Institute's Web site at <http://www.nichd.http://w>.
NIH FUNDS NEW PROGRAM TO INVESTIGATE CAUSES AND TREATMENT OF AUTISM
The National Institutes of Health will intensify its efforts to find the
causes of autism and identify new treatments for the disorder, through a new
research program.
The Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) program represents a consolidation of
two existing programs, the Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment
(STAART) and Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism (CPEA) programs
into a single research effort.
"The consolidation was needed to capitalize on the gains made by the NIH
research effort in autism," said Elias Zerhouni, M.D., Director of the
National Institutes of Health. NIH autism program officials hope to expand
on earlier discoveries made by research previously supported by NIH.
The NIH Institutes providing funding and expertise for the effort are the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National
Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders, the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Mental
Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Autism is a complex brain disorder involving communication and social
difficulties as well as repetitive behavior or narrow interests. Autism is
often be grouped with similar disorders, all of which may be referred to
collectively as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The underlying causes of
ASD are unclear. Currently, there is no cure for the disorders and
treatments are limited.
The ACE program will encompass research centers and research networks. The
research centers will foster collaborations between teams of specialists,
who share the same facility so that they can address a particular research
problem in depth. For example, specialists in brain imaging might
collaborate with behavior researchers to determine if a particular behavior
is associated with a difference in brain structure. They might also consult
with a team of genetics experts to find a hereditary basis for their
observations.
ACE networks consist of researchers at many facilities in locations
throughout the country, all of whom work on a single research question.
Because networks encompass multiple sites, they can recruit large numbers of
volunteers with a particular disorder.
Initially, five centers and one network will receive funding in 2007 to
study ASD. Funding for a second set of ACE research programs will be
announced in 2008.
All ACE award recipients will contribute their data to the National Database
for Autism Research (NDAR). Housed at NIH, NDAR is a Web-based tool that
autism researchers around the world can use to collect and share information
on autism.
The 2007 ACE program award recipients are:
-- EDWIN H. COOK (University of Illinois at Chicago): Researchers at the
University of Illinois at Chicago ACE Center will focus on understanding the
repetitive behavior seen in ASD. Known as "insistence on sameness," this
behavior is a hallmark of ASD. Examples of insistence on sameness consist
of wanting to wear the same clothes every day, taking the same route to work
or school, or becoming fixated on certain subject matter, such as buildings
or cars. Center researchers will focus on genetic factors as well as brain
chemicals and brain functions that could account for repetitive behaviors in
people with ASD, and test whether genetic differences influence how
individuals respond to certain medications intended to reduce the occurrence
of these behaviors.
-- ERIC COURCHESNE (University of California, San Diego): Researchers at the
UCSD ACE Center also will use brain imaging to track brain development in
children believed to be at risk for autism spectrum disorders. Unlike other
ACE program projects, which will attempt to identify forerunners of ASD in
the siblings of children with ASD, the UCSD researchers will study infants
who have been referred by their physicians. The physicians will make the
referrals on the basis of a checklist of behaviors that are similar to those
of older children with ASD. The primary goal of this center is to identify
brain or other physical differences that might predispose a child to autism.
The UCSD Center will collect some of the first information ever obtained on
how the brains of very young children with autism process and respond to
information.
-- GERALDINE DAWSON (University of Washington). Researchers at the
University of Washington ACE Center will seek to identify genes and other
potential factors that may predispose an individual toward ASD, as well as
factors that might protect against them. In addition to genes, the
researchers will try to determine the risk of ASD by examining communication
difficulties, early behaviors, patterns in the sounds babies make, and brain
structure and activity patterns. Researchers will also try to determine
whether certain types of interactions between the parent and baby can
decrease the chances for ASD.
-- NANCY J. MINSHEW (University of Pittsburgh): Researchers at the
University of Pittsburgh ACE Center will study how people with ASD learn and
understand information. Research shows that the ability to organize
information into categories is critical to language development. The
Pittsburgh researchers will use brain imaging techniques to study how
infants at risk for autism and toddlers diagnosed with the disorder place
information into categories. Researchers will also use brain imaging
techniques to study which parts of the brain are activated in people with
and without ASD when processing information and emotions.
-- JOSEPH PIVEN (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill): In hopes of
identifying brain differences in children who develop ASD, researchers at
this Network of sites operating under the direction of the University of
North Carolina will use brain imaging techniques to compile images of the
brains of very young infants. Some of these children may go on to develop
ASD. Their brain images will be compared to those of other infants, to
identify differences between children who develop autism and those who do
not. While previous studies have documented the enlarged brains often seen
in ASD patients, little is known about the abnormal processes during early
brain development in children with ASD. The research could offer new
insights that lead to earlier diagnosis of ASD.
-- MARIAN D. SIGMAN (University of California, Los Angeles): Researchers at
the UCLA ACE Center will seek to understand how ASD affects the ability to
communicate. The researchers will try to find clues to language-related
communications problems by looking at genes, behavior and brain structure
and functioning. The researchers also are interested in disorders that
affect the mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are brain cells that become
active either when a person performs an action or watches the action
performed by someone else. When many patients with ASD are asked to imitate
behaviors, images of their brains show that their mirror neurons are less
active than those of other people. The researchers will try to stimulate
the mirror neurons of people with ASD by having them follow a set of
instructions to complete a task.
The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth;
maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population
issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the
Institute's Web site at <http://www.nichd.http://w>.
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