A Couple of Articles on Autism/Aspergers

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HEALTHUltrasound scans can affect brain development'Souvenir' scans discouraged, but medical value outweighs risks

Monday, August 7, 2006; Posted: 7:06 p.m. EDT (23:06 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Keepsake sonograms have become a popular item with many young parents -- from Tom Cruise to the couple next door. It's a practice many physicians would like to discourage.The latest concern comes from a study that suggests, in mice at least, that ultrasound can affect the development of the fetal brain.Even so, researchers say the findings should not keep pregnant women from having ultrasound scans when needed for medical reasons.When pregnant mice were exposed to ultrasound, a small number of nerve cells in the developing brains of their fetuses failed to extend correctly in the cerebral cortex."Our study in mice does not mean that use of ultrasound on human fetuses for appropriate diagnostic and medical purposes should be abandoned," said Dr. Pasko Rakic, lead researcher and chairman of the neurobiology department at Yale University School of Medicine.However, he added in a telephone interview, women should avoid unnecessary ultrasound scans until more research has been done.Dr. Copel, president-elect of the American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine, said his organization tries to discourage "entertainment" ultrasound, but considers sonograms important when there is a medical benefit."Anytime we're doing an ultrasound we have to think of risk versus benefit. What clinical question are we trying to answer," Copel said in a telephone interview. "It may be very important to know the exact dating of pregnancy, it's certainly helpful to know the anatomy of the fetus, but we shouldn't be holding a transducer on mom's abdomen for hours and hours and hours."Rakic's paper said that while the effects of ultrasound in human brain development are not yet known, there are disorders thought to be the result of misplacement of brain cells during their development."These disorders range from mental retardation and childhood epilepsy to developmental dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia," the researchers said.Their report is in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Early ultrasound scans are done to determine the exact week of the pregnancy and they are also done later to check for anatomical defects and other problems.However, some expectant parents have sought scans to save as keepsakes even when they were not medically necessary, a practice the Food and Drug Administration discourages.The Institute of Ultrasound Medicine was particularly concerned last year when it was announced that actor Cruise had purchased an ultrasound machine so he and his pregnant fiancee, Holmes, could do their own sonograms."Purchase of an ultrasound machine for private, at home use entails inappropriate operation of a prescription medical device designed for diagnostic use by a trained medical professional," the group said in a statement issued at the time.Copel, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine, did point out that there are large differences between scanning mice and scanning people.For example, because of their size, the distance between the scanner and the fetus is larger in people than mice, which reduces the intensity of the ultrasound. In addition, he said, the cranial bones in a human baby are denser than those of a tiny mouse, which further reduces exposure to the scan.The paper noted that the developmental period of these brain cells is much longer in humans than in mice, so exposure would be a smaller percentage of their developmental period.However, it also pointed out that brain cell development in people is more complex and there are more cells developing, which could increase the chances of some going astray.In Rakic's study, pregnant mice were exposed to ultrasound for various amounts of time ranging from a total exposure of 5 minutes to 420 minutes. After the baby mice were born, their brains were studied and compared with those of mice whose mothers had not been exposed to ultrasound.

The study of 335 mice concluded that in those whose mothers were exposed to a total of 30 minutes or more, "a small but statistically significant number" of brain cells failed to grow into their proper position and remained scattered in incorrect parts of the brain. The number of affected cells increased with longer exposures.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.********************************

Brain research breakthrough.(News)The Journal (Newcastle, England) The Journal (Newcastle, England); 8/2/2006Byline: By Scientists have made a major breakthrough in understanding the human brain.It is hoped the new knowledge will help in the treatment of conditions like Alzheimer's disease and autism.Newcastle University scientists and German colleagues at the International University Bremen analysed research on ape brains to complete a study.The research debunks the theory that the nervous system should have mainly very short nerve fibre connections between nerve cells, or neurons, to function.Instead the study found that long nerve fibre connections were just as vital as short ones.The breakthrough could one day be vital in understanding what goes wrong when the brain develops Alzheimer's and autism. Brain scans of Alzheimer's patients and people with autism have shown that they are lacking certain long-distance neural interactions, although experts have yet to discover their specific purpose. Scientists carried out a computer analysis of databases containing detailed information of worldwide anatomical studies on primate and worm brains, and found that long nerve fibre connections were just as vital to overall brain function as short ones.Neuroscience research on primates is conducted because apes have experienced similar evolutionary stages to humans.The new study, published in the academic journal PLoS Computational Biology, found that long fibres are important because they can send messages quickly over a longer distance compared with if the same message was sent over the same distance via lots of short fibres. It also found that long fibres are more reliable for transmission of messages over longer distances."You can draw parallels with a train journey from Newcastle to London," said lead researcher, Dr Marcus Kaiser, of Newcastle University's School of Computing Science and the University's Institute of Neuroscience."For example, you would get to London much more quickly and easily if you took a direct train there. However, if you had to make the journey via Durham, Leeds and age, changing trains each time, then it will take you longer to get there, and there is the possibility you would miss a connection at some point. It's the same in the human brain."The computer programme, run over several days, took information about the length of nerve fibres in the primate brain and neuronal connections called axons in the brain of a species of worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans.It then tested if the total length of fibres could be reduced, by testing billions of different position arrangements.Indeed, wiring lengths could be reduced by up to 50% owing to the fact that neural systems have surprisingly many long-distance connections.COPYRIGHT 2006 MGN Ltd.

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Sailing Program Provide Therapy for Teens: Teens With Autism, Asperger's Syndrome Develop Social SkillsThe Bellingham Herald, Wash. The Bellingham Herald, Wash.; 7/30/2006Search for more information on HighBeam Research for autism.Jul. 30--It's a sun-drenched day in the San Islands, and aboard the Gato Verde, life is good. Max Flansberg, 13, has raised a pirate flag up the mast of the 42-foot catamaran he shares with six other teenage boys, two counselors and a skipper.He's wearing a pirate's eye patch. There are gummy worms on the table. And he and his buddies are joking around with each other, whiling away the July afternoon.Max and his shipmates Jon, Dieter, Jeff, , and Bradley, all have autism or its cousin, Asperger's syndrome.They're on the maiden voyage of Talisail, a unique wilderness therapy program meant to draw them into the larger world, and toward each other -- to give them what Talisail calls "pro-social skills," and what life calls friendship, camaraderie and conversation. The boys, who range in age from 13 to 17, have come from as far away as Israel and Connecticut for this week. Their parents have paid $2,500, plus travel costs, to send them here.Since they set sail from Bellingham nearly a week ago, they've been sailing island to island, spotting porpoises and seals and bald eagles, and sleeping to the tides."It's a week of freedom, of being themselves," says program director Pete Weiss.Each morning, they chart the day's course together, sail and drop anchor in the evening.Each hour is scheduled, the day's activities posted on the door. The boys are responsible for cooking, cleaning and sailing.Everything they do, they do together.This is no small challenge for a group of boys with a disorder that makes social interaction difficult. The sailing has not always been smooth this week. ON THE RISE U.S. Department of Education statistics show autism diagnoses growing at a rate of 10 percent to 17 percent per year. Back in their hometowns and high schools, some of the boys get lost in the mix - they're teased, ignored or bewildered. These years can be scary for them - and their parents."In middle school, the game is on, socially," says Weiss. "They are the most complicated years for social skills."But what if you don't know how to play the game? What if you don't even understand the rules?Weiss first developed a river-rafting program for autistic youth in North Carolina for Talisman, the parent company of the camp. Weiss, who lives on a houseboat in Seattle, saw a sailboat as the perfect place to extend the program: close quarters, the necessity of working together, the lack of distractions.He approached Bellingham's Todd Shuster, who has been operating his charter business out of the Bellingham Cruise Terminal for three years. Schuster, whose undergraduate focus was wilderness therapy, was excited to welcome the group aboard the Gato Verde, which he charters year-round for education and pleasure cruises."This is exactly what I want to be doing with this business," he says.Shuster, Weiss and veteran educator Holly Briscoe would counsel on the boat. On July 15 they set sail. FITTING IN The boys on the boat largely have what's considered "high-functioning" autism or Asperger's.Some people hear autism and think of the hand-flapping, obsessive savant in the movie "Rainman," forever ingrained into popular culture. That guy is not on this boat.Who is?Guys who love Lynyrd Skynyrd, the New York Yankees and Jeff Foxworthy's redneck humor books, who want to be sports reporters, musicians and professional athletes, who could read Tom Clancy books all day long, like vanilla ice cream and the news. Some are in talented and gifted programs, others in special education classes.What they have in common are the hallmarks of autism and Asperger's, the elements that make developing social relationships tricky, says Weiss. They struggle with being able to carry a conversation, dealing appropriately with their emotions, saying the right thing at the right time.

So give them structure, predictability and acceptance. Push them to engage with others. Make sure no one becomes a victim."We have an incredibly low tolerance for teasing on this boat," says Weiss.For Bradley , part of that challenge is hanging out with the group. If he could, he'd spend most of his time below deck, in his tiny stateroom.So Weiss, Briscoe and Shuster make a deal with him: 30 minutes below deck of peace and quiet in exchange for five minutes above deck with the group.And call the boys on the behavior that drives their peers away.Jon Forker, 15, of Canton, Conn., is talking a nautical mile a minute about Sasquatch and the abominable snowman. Someone else tries to join in, and he keeps talking."Jon, you interrupted," says Weiss."Oh yeah, sorry," says Jon."We only have a week," says Weiss. "But to do (what we do in this week) in therapy would take years." ADVENTURE AT SEA The boys don't see camp as therapy. They're just seven guys on an adventure at sea.One night, they spot a message in a bottle (that Weiss secretly planted) floating in the water. Inside is a map that leads them to treasure: ice cream in Friday Harbor, and a chest full of loot like a pirate flag and a "treasure book."Max Flansberg, the son of a fisherman who grew up on the Oregon coast, and a born mariner, might be having the best time of all. Flansberg, who has been wearing an eye patch since the treasure discovery, is joyful and it's contagious.Something else is quietly developing.Bradley is spending more time upstairs on deck, unprompted. The conflicts that surrounded chores and jobs early on have diminished. Kelley, a jovial 17-year-old from Arizona who has the boat's eagle-eye for spotting wildlife, has a goal: to think if he already knows the answer to a question before he asks it.One day, usually shy Bradley asks Dieter Veitenhans a big question."Dieter, are you my new friend?" he says."Yeah, I am," says Dieter. SAYING GOODBYE The night before the end of the trip, the boys sit down for their "goodbye group." Each gets a necklace, a string with a silver whale tail.It's hard to say goodbye.The structure and the acceptance on the boat will not follow every boy home.If nothing else, this will be a great memory. "It's giving them this week, this memory - I was treated well, I was cared for by my peers," says Weiss."Sometimes, that's all we can give them."But like the talisman they wear around their necks, Weiss hopes they'll carry this week with them.Dieter says he will."I tried to be more patient, and to take it easy more," says the 15-year-old from Gig Harbor.He's going to be in mainstream classes this fall, a change from the special education classes he's been in for years. He'll need the skills he learned about the Gato Verde to stay in them.Next summer, Talisail hopes to get even more kids through the program.Back at home, as the suntans begin to fade and the film in the disposable cameras is developed, parents notice subtle changes in their children.In Seattle, marvels at her son, Bradley. sSince he's returned, he makes his own lunch - something he hadn't done before. He just seems more positive, she says.Bradley tells his mom about something he loved to do on the boat: hoist the mainsail."Can you imagine?" she says."All of a sudden, a great big sail catches the wind. What a feeling."Reach Theriault at 756-2803 or michelle.theriault@....-----

Copyright © 2006, The Bellingham Herald, Bellingham, Wash.

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