b5media.com

Advertise with us

Enjoying this blog? Check out the rest of the Health & Wellness Channel Subscribe to this Feed

Autism Vox

June 22nd, 2008

Last Week’s Top Posts

Charlie and I started the week on the West Coast, visiting my family (and Charlie missing his dad so much he tried to walk back to New Jersey)—came back on a red eye Tuesday morning and he was back in school on Wednesday.  Meanwhile:

The Regression Question
Do some children seem to be autistic from the […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 1 comment

June 14th, 2008

Missing Protein in Fragile X Affects Neuron Signaling

About one-third of those with Fragile X also have autism. My son was tested for Fragile X around the time that he was being evaluated for autism, and Charlie does not have Fragile X (go here to read about a new gene that was found for Fragile X earlier this year). A recent study in […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 6 comments

June 11th, 2008

Recovered, Diagnosed, Undiagnosed…..

On Sunday I posted about whether or not Jenny Mccarthy’s son is recovered or not.
In a transcript of McCarthy’s June 6 interview about her “autism crusade,” it’s as hard as ever to get the facts straight about what her son Evan has: Perhaps it is indeed not clear to either McCarthy or the various medical […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 66 comments

June 7th, 2008

This Week’s Top Posts

Some will remember last week for June 4th and “Green Our Vaccines” rally.
I remember it as Charlie’s last full week of elementary school.

Low Birth Weight and Preterm Birth: Autism Risk Factors?A new study in Pediatrics links low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds) and preterm birth to an increased risk for autism in infants by […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 0 comments

June 7th, 2008

Recovered or Not?

When Jenny McCarthy’s book Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism was published last September, all the talk was that she had “recovered” her son from autism.
In article after article about the “Green Our Vaccines” rally, it is said that that her son is “autistic” and “has autism.”
Just trying to get the facts […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 67 comments

June 6th, 2008

1500

1500.
That’s journalist Arthur Allen’s estimate of how many people were at Wednesday’s Green Our Vaccines rally; a bit smaller of a number than the “close to 10,000” elsewhere noted.
Writing in today’s Washington Independent, Allen—-who’s won a bit more than the ire of the anti/pro-safe - vaccine advocates/crowd with his book, Vaccine: The Controversial Story of […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 33 comments

June 4th, 2008

Change the Schedule!

“Change the schedule!” This appears to be the rallying cry of today’s Green Our Vaccines rally. CBS news quotes comedian Jim Carrey:
Led by actors Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey, they’re marching against the medical establishment that says there’s no evidence vaccines cause autism, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports.
“We want to send […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 49 comments

June 4th, 2008

The Rallying of the Green

A couple of years while teaching this poem to an English Literature 101 class at a mid-sized university in New Jersey (it’s not where I teach now), I asked my class what “green” signifies. While we live in New Jersey, I grew up in California (think Berkeley not Los Angeles) and — having started to […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 70 comments

June 2nd, 2008

Genetic Cause for Childhood Absence Epilepsy Identified

More genetics news today: Researchers have identified the mutated gene that causes childhood absence epilepsy (CAE).
The seizures of childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) are usually staring spells during which the child is not aware or responsive. The child’s eyes may roll up briefly. Each spell lasts about 10 seconds and ends abruptly. The child often is […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 9 comments

June 2nd, 2008

Repression and Activation of the MeCP2 Gene and Rett Syndrome

Mutations in the MeCP2 gene are known to cause Rett Syndrome, which causes impairments in language and cognitive and fine motor skills; according to the International Rett’s Syndrome Foundation, Rett Syndrome is often misdiagnosed as autism. Scientists have previously thought that the MeCP2 gene repressed other genes—switching them “off”; a study published in the June […]

By Kristina Chew, PhD -- 2 comments