Enjoying this blog? Check out the rest of the Health & Wellness Channel 
Yes, I do think that the hypothetical “vaccine-autism” link distracts us from the key issues of education, services, and understanding about autism. Nonetheless, vaccines were the topic of some of last week’s top posts:
Musings on Camp and Independence
Should I be sending Charlie to camp?
The Dangers of DIY Doctoring
Doctors and patients at odds, and […]
This week my summer school class on Psychology and Literature read Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. On Thursday morning the students had a quiz in which they had to “diagnose” Christopher, the novel’s main character, with autism or Asperger Syndrome, based on the DSM criteria. We also talked about […]
The latest issue of Nature Genetics opens with an editorial entitled All in the mind about recent discoveries of de novo mutations in some cases of autism and schizophrenia. “Exceptional rigor and caution” are called for in the search for “causative variants”:
If many genes can be perturbed to produce a related set of psychiatric phenotypes, […]
The earlier part of this year saw the publication of a number of studies about the genetics of autism, with one scientist speculating about a unified theory of autism.
The July 2008 Nature Genetics has a review of psychiatric genetics that considers progress and controversy. Here is the abstract:
Several psychiatric disorders — such as bipolar disorder, […]
The autism epidemic commeth — or, more accurately, it goeth. The threat of such a terrible scourge—–lots of children with autism—is behind the calls for “safer vaccines” and “change the schedule!” by anti/pro-safe vaccine rallyers at Wednesday’s Green Our Vaccines (which acronyms nicely into GOV) rally. Get out those toxins, change that schedule, flush […]
Sunday’s New York Times had an article about “Mad Pride”: More people with “severe forms of mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder” are now speaking out about “their demons”:
About 5.7 million Americans over 18 have bipolar disorder, which is classified as a mood disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Another […]
“In psychology, I’m starting to get the weary feeling that everything gives you mental illness,” quips Williams Saletan in the May 7th Slate on Human Nature. Saletan references the recent study which found that parents who have psychiatric disorders are doubly at risk to have an autistic child (while also citing another study according to […]
The decision to put an autistic child on medication is never easy for a parent to think about. When the medications in question are antipsychotics (like Risperdal) and antidepressants (like Zoloft), and when the child is disabled and has little or no language to explain how he feels while on the meds, a parent has […]
The risk of having an autistic child is doubled if a parent has schizophrenia or if a mother has psychiatric problems (depression, personality disorders), according to a study published in Pediatrics. From Reuters via WNED.org:
The study of families in Sweden with children born between 1977 and 2003 involved 1,227 children diagnosed with autism. They were […]
There’s a list of 23 unidentified modern eccentrics over on Gawker today. From the descriptions, some of those mentioned are homeless, one is a paraplegic, and more than a few have possible diagnoses; whether those who need it are getting any treatment or even care is not at all clear. The list is part of […]
Autism mother gets on her soapbox.
Written by Kristina Chew, PhD [email] for b5media.
A Dozen Steps
A Hearty Life
Alzheimer's Notes
Autism Vox
Breaking the Mirror
Breastfeeding 1-2-3
Diabetes Notes
Eating Fabulous
Genetics & Health
Grounded Fitness
Health and Men
Healthbolt
Help My Hurt
Kids Health Notes
Lively Women
Mental Health Notes
Pink Ribbon Review
Veggie Chic
Weighting Line
Womb Within
Recent Comments