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Adolescents Inadequate evidence has been reported as the cause contradicting the use of medical interventions in adolescents and young adults with autism.(Medical News Today:26.9.2012) According to a recent analysis by researchers at Vanderbuilt University and their findings published in Pediatrics, even though adolescents with autism are being prescribed medication, there is little to no evidence showing whether these medications are helpful. Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, M.D., assistant professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Pharmacology and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center investigator commented, "We need more research to be able to understand how to treat core symptoms of autism in this population, as well as common associated symptoms such as anxiety, compulsive behaviors and agitation." Because of this lack of evidence, clinicians, families and patients make hasty decisions regarding medication, often without completely knowing which treatments could make things better or what might make them worse. In previous research it has also been seen that even early age interventions do not have sufficient evidence to support any particular approach. This specific analysis is a portion of research on interventions for adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders that has found little evidence to support conclusions for all therapies currently used, good or bad. These researchers investigated over 4,500 studies and specifically reviewed 32 studies on therapies for people ages 13 to 30 with autism spectrum disorders. They concentrated on the results, such as harmful and unfavorable effects of interventions, including educational, behavioral, vocational, and medical. It was revealed that some treatments could improve social skills and educational outcomes like vocabulary or reading, but these studies were small and had little follow- ups. The most constant finding was seen in relation to the effects of antipsychotic medications on reducing behaviors associated with autism such as aggressiveness and irritability. Harms seen with this type of medication include weight gain and sedation. There was limited to no evidence in favor of using medical interventions in adolescents and young adults with autism. In regards to vocational interventions, researchers saw them to be effective for some people but not others, with several study flaws present, reducing confidence in their conclusions. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that one in 88 children suffers from an autism spectrum disorder. Boys outnumber girls 5-to-1, estimating that one in every 54 boys in the United States has autism. The authors concluded that much remains to be learned on the topic of interventions and adolescents with autism. Aging Elderly Care Tokyo Elderly Care Hospital Faces TB Outbreak (Med India: 11.7.2012) A report says that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Monday 78 patients and staff at an elderly care center had contracted tuberculosis (TB), including three people who died. In February, two in-patients at the dementia care wing of Tokyo Oume Hospital were diagnosed with TB, Jiji Press said. A follow-up study by the local public health centre found a total of 78 infections in the wing, Jiji said without giving a breakdown of how many of them were patients and staff. Of those, three people have died, including a man in his 60s who was one of the two original TB patients, the report said. The infections might have spread as the man, who died in April, was seen walking around the wing and spitting on people, according to the report. It was not immediately clear whether the two other deaths were directly related to tuberculosis, Jiji said. Anti-ageing pills Anti-ageing pills closer to reality(New Kerala: 18.7.201`2) A pill that alleviates the worst aspects of ageing could be closer than we think, an expert says. In fact, a drug already licensed to treat cancer is getting the results scientists are after, in animals. Professor Dame Linda Partridge, the director of the Institute of Ageing at University College London, said that when mice were fed the drug rapamycin, they lived longer, the Age reported. But the drug also offered protection against neurodegenerative diseases, which are closely linked to ageing. "Ageing is the main risk factor for all these horrible killer and chronic conditions — dementia, cardiovascular disease, cancer," Professor Partridge said. "What we are trying to do here is hit the underlying ageing process itself through understanding mechanisms to protect against all these things at once, rather than treating them piecemeal. "Rapamycin is beginning to look like a proof of principle that that kind of approach is going to work." However, the drug — a natural product initially discovered in the soil of Easter Island — is also believed to have a downside. It's an immune suppressant and is also used to prevent the body rejecting an organ after transplant. But there's potential to boost the drug's health benefits while minimising its undesirable side-effects, Professor Partridge said. Professor Partridge will deliver the 2012 Graeme Clark Oration in Melbourne tomorrow. (ANI Ageing How ageing impairs body's immune function(New Kerala 20.7.2012) Researchers have identified one of the mechanisms by which ageing may compromise the ability of the immune system to fight infections and respond to vaccines. The study from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, conducted in ageing mice, showed that administering antioxidants might help reverse this loss of immune function. "Ageing is known to affect immune function, a phenomenon known as immunosenescence, but how this happens is not clear," said study leader Laura Santambrogio, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pathology and of microbiology and immunology at Einstein. "Our study has uncovered several ways in which ageing can worsen the body's overall ability to mount an effective immune response," Santambrogio noted. All cells generate chemicals called free radicals as a normal part of metabolism. These highly reactive, unstable molecules can readily damage proteins, lipids and other cellular components through oxidation (the reaction between oxygen and substances it comes in contact with). Cells keep "oxidative stress" in check by producing several enzymes that are scavengers of free radicals. But in ageing, increased production of free radicals coupled with cells' decreased production of antioxidant enzymes cause a build-up of damaged proteins and other molecules that can be toxic to cells. The current study is the first to examine whether age-related oxidative stress compromises the function of a type of immune cell called dendritic cells. "Dendritic cells are known as the 'sentinels of the immune system' and alert the rest of the immune system to the presence of microbial invaders," explained Dr. Santambrogio. "When you are exposed to viruses or bacteria, these cells engulf the pathogens and present them to the immune system, saying in effect, 'There's an infection going on, and here is the culprit-go get it,'" she explained. Dr. Santambrogio, in collaboration with Einstein colleagues Fernando Macian-Juan, M.D., Ph.D. , and Ana Maria Cuervo, M.D., Ph.D. , isolated dendritic cells from ageing mice and found that oxidation-damaged proteins had accumulated in those cells and had caused harmful effects. For example, oxidatively modified proteins hampered the function of endosomes, the cell's organelle where pathogens are inactivated. When the mice were injected with a potent antioxidant in the abdominal cavity daily for two weeks, some of the effects of oxidative stress were reversed. This finding has implications for designing vaccines or therapies for humans, especially the elderly, whose weakened immune systems increase their susceptibility to infections and cancer, and reduces vaccine effectiveness. "Many elderly people respond very poorly to vaccination, so perhaps a cycle of therapy with antioxidants before vaccination might improve their immune response to vaccines," Dr. Santambrogio stated. The findings were published online this month in the journal Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries Study Shows Increased Satisfaction Levels among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries (Med India: 20.7.2012) NY—Elderly beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare plans are more satisfied with their health insurance, have better access to care, and are less likely to have problems paying medical bills than people who get insurance through employers or those who purchase coverage on their own, according to a new Commonwealth Fund study published today in Health Affairs. The study also found that beneficiaries enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans are less satisfied with their insurance than those with a traditional Medicare plan, and more likely to experience access problems. The study, "Medicare Beneficiaries Less Likely To Experience Cost- And Access- Related Problems Than Adults With Private Coverage," by Commonwealth Fund researchers Karen Davis, Kristof Stremikis, Michelle Doty, and Mark Zezza, finds that only 8 percent of Medicare beneficiaries rated their insurance as fair or poor, compared with 20 percent of adults with employer insurance and 33 percent who purchased insurance on their own. As the federal government weighs proposals to cut Medicare spending, the analysis, based on results from The Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey of 2010, suggests shifting Medicare beneficiaries into private plans could put the elderly at greater

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