SchaferAutismReport: ARI Sponsors Specimen Bank: SAR Supplement

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Subject: ARI Sponsors Specimen Bank: SAR Supplement

Supplement

Read at website

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ARI Sponsors Specimen Bank

In order to figure out the underlying cause(s) of autism, the

study of tissue is essential. A couple of years ago the Autism

Research Institute (ARI) partnered with the Brain and Tissue Bank for

Developmental Disorders at the University of land, under contract to

the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In

addition, last year ARI began to sponsor the Digestive Function

Laboratory Repository for tissues from patients with and without autism

at Mass General.

We are pleased to announce that ARI will be working in collaboration with

The Health Research Center/Pfeiffer Treatment Center to sponsor a blood

serum/plasma, blood cell, and urine bank of non-autistic healthy control

specimens. A.J. Russo, Ph.D., the Research Director, will oversee the

specimen bank. The aim is to establish a center for control samples

accessible to ARI collaborators at minimal cost. The center will collect,

transport and house plasma/serum, red blood cells, buffy coat, and urine

from age-appropriate non-autistic/neurotypical children.

We need the help of general practitioners, pediatricians, and

researchers who work with healthy, 3-12 year old children to solicit

samples from them. We will provide you with a release/permission form for

your patients to sign. We will also arrange for transport, and process,

freeze, and store of the samples at our facility at the Pfeiffer

Treatment Center.

If you are willing to help or have questions, please contact Dr. Russo

at:

A.J. Russo, Ph.D.

Research Director

Health Research Institute/Pfeiffer Treatment Center

4575 Weaver Parkway

Warrenville, IL 60555

Phone: X207

Fax:

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Translated Versions of GI Disorders in ASD Patients Consensus Report

Summary Posted to ARI’s website

In January 2010, the

journal Pediatrics published a consensus report titled Evaluation,

Diagnosis, and Treatment of Gastrointestinal Disorders in Individuals

with ASDs: A Consensus Report. The report was sponsored by the Autism

Research Institute, the Northwest Autism Foundation, Easter Seals, and

the Autism Society. Twenty-six scientists reviewed the state-of-the-art

research on gastrointestinal problems associated with autism, and they

concluded that pediatricians need to be aware of and should treat such

problems. In addition, the report urged that more research be conducted

in order to determine prevalence, cause and treatment.

ARI recently translated and uploaded to its website a summary version of

the paper into four languages, including Chinese, German, Japanese, and

Spanish.

French, Italian, Russian, and several more languages are currently being

translated and will be posted to ARI’s website soon.

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Spotlight on Staff

Curtis Jensen joins ARI in a research capacity, exploring ARI’s databases

for subtypes of autism in order to better identify which groups respond

best to different types of treatments. Using data from ARI’s E-2

Diagnostic checklist submitted by parents, his research involves the

identification of certain groups for whom specific treatments (e.g. diet,

supplements, other therapies, behavior modification, and social skills

training) have greater efficacy. While looking at treatment efficacy

across the entire ASD population is useful, this targeted research should

prove to have greater clinical significance for practitioners and

parents. Curtis recently completed his Master’s Degree in computer

science at Cal State University/San Marcos. ARI allowed him to use the

E-2 survey data for his thesis (“Using Mining and Machine Learning to

Identify Subtypes of Autism.â€) After completion of the thesis, Director

Dr. Steve Edelson arranged for Mr. Jensen to continue his research at

ARI. Curtis also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering from the

University of California/San Diego, and has worked in software

engineering for 11 years in the medical research and defense industries.

He and his wife Alaina live in San Diego, and are the parents of

four-year old twins (Levi and Georgia), both on the autism spectrum.

Lenny Schafer editor@...

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