TMS threapy for Autism update

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http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Promising-results-in-Autism-Treatment-98976784.html Willett and Traylor are young warriors in the fight to find a treatment for autism. " You doing OK ? " asks a research scientist at the University of Louisville where he is one of several young people with autism participating in a study. " Yeah, " says quietly and simply. It's now estimated 1 in 110 children is born with a type of autism. Their brains work fine. In some cases, they're brilliant. But there's a misfire. Different parts of the brain can't communicate the way they should. For nearly three years, a team of University of Louisville researchers has been making strides in rewiring the brains of autistic children. They do it with magnets. " This is like the mother of all magnets, " says Dr. Casanova the lead investigator for the magnet therapy study. " The same that's on an MRI machine. " Dr. Casanova says the magnet therapy or transcranial magnetic stimulation is working. He says it " actually provide(s) for some significant improvement in the patient's quality of life " . Even when very young, Mitch was very verbal. His mother Kellee says, " He was fun to speak with. It was almost like talking to a tiny adult. " Mitch was reading by 3-years-old and became a math whiz.. Mitch said, " Believe it or not i was actually placed in Algebra in the 6th grade. " 's strong suit is his memory his mother says. " He knows pretty much any of the sports stats. Football, basketball. He knows the names of all these players, " said . But both boys have difficulties with social skills, focus and frustration. " Do you get distracted. " asked. He answered, " Yeah, a little bit. " Mitch said, " How can i put this. It's just seems like i won't be able to do this. It's just too much thrown on me at one time. " asked Mitch, " Do you get in trouble for getting angry? " " Oh, ask her, " Mitch answered, pointing at his mother. During the therapy, magnets are moved over specific parts of the brain. The boys say they don't feel much. Occasionally there's a twitch. Meanwhile, inside the brain, the magnetic current is building a protective coating around something called mini-columns. Here's Dr. Casanova's example of how the therapy works: A shower curtain keeps water in the bath tub. If you open it the water spits out. In autism, the water is information going in the wrong place without the shower curtain to contain it. After the magnet therapy, and Mitch are wired with a cap full of plastic electrodes. Their reactions are recorded to see if they can ignore the wrong information. Both say magnet therapy is making a difference. Mitch tells me, " I feel that it has been helping me. I feel I've been getting angry less and less often. " Powerful words about a powerful magnet that could make a big difference someday. Mitch's mom already sees it in her son. Kellee Traylor says, " When I look back to where we were before I started this, to where we are now, I can see just leaps and bounds of improvement. " ¡¡