Autism
Top psych stories of December: Prescription cannabinoids, assessing autism risk via hair
Healio Psychiatry’s five most-viewed stories in December highlight the lack of evidence for prescription cannabinoids in treating psychiatric disorders, the FDA’s breakthrough designation for a device that may assess autism risk using a hair strand, and the effects of geography and race/ethnicity on late-life depression severity.
FDA grants breakthrough designation to device that may assess autism risk via hair strand
Family-centered nutrition can help kids with autism, study finds
Low-dose PAX-101 improves autism spectrum disorder symptoms in boys
Boys with autism spectrum disorder who received 10 mg/kg of a suramin IV infusion known as PAX-101 experienced greater improvements in symptoms than those who received 20 mg/kg of the same treatment or placebo, data show.
Autism significantly increases risk for self-harm, suicidality
Children and adults with autism spectrum disorder had significantly increased risk for self-harm and suicidality, according to results of a systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open.
Oxytocin does not improve social functioning in children with autism, study finds
Daily intranasal therapy with the hormone oxytocin did not appear to improve social functioning among children with autism spectrum disorder, according to an NIH-funded study, contradicting smaller studies supporting its off-label use.
Adults with autism more than two times likely to receive dementia diagnosis
Adults with autism spectrum disorder were about 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with early-onset dementia than adults in the general population, according to a case control study published in Autism Research.
Q&A: Determining the gut microbiome’s impact on psychiatric disorders
Recent research has supported the theory of a connection between the gut and brain.
Preterm, early term birth increases risk for autism, large study finds
Preterm and early term birth were associated with a significantly increased risk for autism spectrum disorder in both boys and girls in a study that included more than 4 million children born over a 40-year period in Sweden.