Exciting

New Imaging Technique Identifies Autism Markers with 95% Accuracy

Summary: Researchers have developed a system that detects genetic markers of autism in brain images with 89-95% accuracy, potentially enabling earlier diagnosis and treatment.

This method, which identifies brain structure patterns linked to autism-related genetic variations, offers a personalized approach to autism care. The technique, called transport-based morphometry, could transform the understanding and treatment of autism by focusing on genetic markers rather than behavioral cues.

Key Facts:

• The system uses brain imaging to spot autism-related genetic variations.

• Accuracy of the method ranges from 89-95%, promising earlier diagnosis.

• This approach could shift autism diagnosis from behavior-based to genetics-based.

Oh, I did want to link to this very interesting study

Bullying does more long-term mental health harm than abuse, study says

The long-term effects of being bullied by other kids are worse than being abused by an adult, new research shows.

Among a large group of children in England, those who were bullied were 60% more likely to have mental health problems as adults than were those who suffered physical, emotional or sexual abuse. And among a large group of children in the United States, the risk of mental health problems was nearly four times greater for victims of bullying than for victims of child abuse.

The study itself, published in the journal Lancet Psychiatry, is open access and is freely available on their website (PDF: Lereya ST, Copeland WE, Wolke D. Adult mental health consequences of peer bullying and maltreatment in childhood: two cohorts in two countries. The Lancet Psychiatry. Published online April 28, 2015.)

Interesting

High-definition scans suggest effects of smoking may be seen in unborn babies

The harmful effects of smoking during pregnancy may be reflected in the facial movements of mothers’ unborn babies, new research has suggested.

Researchers at Lancaster and Durham universities said the findings of their pilot study added weight to existing evidence that smoking is harmful to fetuses as they develop in the womb and warranted further investigation.

Professor Brian Francis, of Lancaster University, said: “Technology means we can now see what was previously hidden, revealing how smoking affects the development of the fetus in ways we did not realise. This is yet further evidence of the negative effects of smoking in pregnancy.”

This saddens me

Yale Study: 12 Percent of US Children Abused

A university research group arrived at the cumulative estimate of mistreated American children by examining the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Child File, which includes data on every child in the country with a confirmed report of maltreatment.

Case reports accumulated between 2004 and 2011 showed over 5.6 million children had experienced maltreatment during that specific seven-year span.

"Confirmed child maltreatment is dramatically underestimated in this country. Our findings show that it is far more prevalent than the 1 in 100 that is currently reported," Christopher Wildeman, an associate professor of sociology at Yale, a faculty fellow at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies and the study's lead author, said in a news release.

It's actually 12.5% overall for 2011 rates according to the study. When broken up by ethnicity, they found black children experienced maltreatment at a rate of 20.9%, American Indians at 14.5%, Latinos 13%, white children at 10.7% all far ahead of Asian/Pacific Islanders, which was only 3.8%. Girls are more likely to be maltreated (13% vs. boys at 12%). They also found the risk for maltreatment is higher in the first years of life. The study was published in today's (June 2nd) issue of JAMA Pediatrics [Subscription only, but you can view the abstract]. Here's the citation:

Wildeman C, Emanuel N, Leventhal JM, Putnam-Hornstein E, Waldfogel J, Lee H. The Prevalence of Confirmed Maltreatment Among US Children, 2004 to 2011. JAMA Pediatr. Published online June 02, 2014. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.410.