Medical topic blog
Autism spectrum disorders by Haley Keihn
Sources of Information
2) Name of website PubMed
URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26456415
3) Name of website Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Analyses and Definitions
heter/o (CF)= different, other
-gene (S)= formation, produce
-ity (S)= state, condition of
Defintion: The condition of different formation of genes
2) Word analyses of Psychiatric
psych (CF)= mind
iatr (CF)= treatment
-ic (S)= pertaining to
Definition: Pertaining to mental illness
3) Word analyses of Echolalia
ech/o (CF)= echo, reflected sound
-lalia (S)= to talk
Definition: The repeating of one word or saying
4) Word analyses of Macrocephaly
macr/o (CF)= large
cephal (R)= head
-y (S)= condition, process, pertaining to
Definition: A child with a large circumference of the head
5) Word analyses of Psychotherapeutic
psych/o (CF)= mind
therap (CF)= treatment
eu- (P)= good, normal
-tic (S)=pertaining to
Definition: Treating mental health problems
Summary
Macrocephaly and brain overgrowth have been associated with autism spectrum disorder (Ireland, 2015). Ireland (2015) found a significant interaction between age and total brain volume, resulting in a larger head circumference and brain size during early childhood. Ireland (2015) results provide a conclusive effect sizes and prevalence rates for macrocephaly and brain overgrowth in autism, confirm the variation of abnormal brain growth with age, and support the inclusion of this end-phenotype in multi-biomaker diagnosis panels of clinical use.
Acupuncture, which involves the use of needles or pressure to specific points on the body, is used widely in Traditional Chinese Medicine and increasingly within a western medical paradigm (Chan, 2009). Individual study results suggested there may be some benefit from acupressure for certain aspects of the secondary outcomes of communication and linguistic ability, cognitive function, and global functioning (Chan 2009). Chan (2009) concluded that current evidence does not support the use of acupuncture for treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder. There is no conclusive evidence that acupuncture is effective for treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children and no RCTs have been carried out with adults. Further high quality trails of larger size and longer follow up are needed (Chan, 2009). There is no known treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder.