To date, the medical community has not been able to arrive at a consensus on the cause or best treatments for the condition, which typically affects children under three, impairing their language and social skills and often associated with a host of gastrointestinal problems. But recent studies, including one in March by the California Department of Health Services which reviewed the data on all the autism cases seen in the state over 14 years, appear to discredit that theory. The question now is to determine whether the MT proteins are genetically defective or disabled by a biochemical abnormality, which may stem in part from environmental factors such as toxin poisoning, said Walsh. In either case, doctors hope to stimulate the protein's production and functioning by giving autistic children nutritional supplements. The study of 503 autistic children was conducted at the Pfeiffer Center, an institute which leads the field in research into biochemical therapies for behavioural problems and mental conditions.
Asthma medications face tests.
After weeks of secrecy the American recipient of the world's first fully self-contained heart has emerged to speak about his experience and his hopes of survival. Explicit video games showing graphic sex and violence could become available in Australia under new classification guidelines currently being considered. A new survey has revelaed that more than half of the patients who die unexpectedly in hospitals showed treatable symptoms up to eight hours before their deaths. Sydney's Catholic Archbishop is calling for an overhaul of the no fault divorce system, saying that the current system makes it too easy for a couple to separate, and saying that those with children who divorce should pay a divorce tax.