Stress may cause gastrointestinal issues in autistic kids

January 7, 2017

Washington, Jan 7: Stress may cause kids with autism to develop gastrointestinal issues, according to a new study that may pave the way for therapies to treat the condition.

kids "We know that it is common for individuals with autism to have a more intense reaction to stress and some of these patients seem to experience frequent constipation, abdominal pain or other gastrointestinal issues," said David Beversdorf, associate professor from the University of Missouri in the US.

"To better understand why, we looked for a relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and the immune markers responsible for stress response," said Beversdorf.

"We found a relationship between increased cortisol response to stress and these symptoms," he said.

Cortisol is a hormone released by the body in times of stress and one of its functions is to prevent the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation.

These inflammatory substances - known as cytokines - have been associated with autism, gastrointestinal issues and stress.

Researchers studied 120 individuals with autism who were treated at MU and Vanderbilt University in the US.

The individuals parents completed a questionnaire to assess their childrens gastrointestinal symptoms, resulting in 51 patients with symptoms and 69 without gastrointestinal symptoms.

To elicit a stress response, individuals took a 30-second stress test. Cortisol samples were gathered through participants saliva before and after the test.

The researchers found that the individuals with gastrointestinal symptoms had greater cortisol in response to the stress than the participants without gastrointestinal symptoms.

"When treating a patient with autism who has constipation and other lower gastrointestinal issues, physicians may give them a laxative to address these issues," said Beversdorf.

"Our findings suggest there may be a subset of patients for which there may be other contributing factors," he said.

"More research is needed, but anxiety and stress reactivity may be an important factor when treating these patients," Beversdorf added.

The study appears in the journal Brain, Behaviour, and Immunity.

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Using blood-clotting agent for bleeding stroke

Agencies

February 23,2020

Los Angeles, Feb 23: According to researchers, if administered quickly, a common medication that reduces bleeding could be a treatment for bleeding stroke.

The Spot Sign and Tranexamic Acid on Preventing ICH Growth - Australasia Trial (STOP-AUST) was a multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 clinical trial using the antifibrinolytic agent tranexamic acid in people with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).

ICH is a severe form of acute stroke with few treatment options.

Tranexamic acid is currently used to treat or prevent excessive blood loss from trauma, surgery, tooth removal, nosebleeds and heavy menstruation. For this study, one hundred patients with active brain bleeding were given either intravenous tranexamic acid or placebo within 4.5 hours of symptom onset.

Researchers analyzed brain CT scans taken during the 24-hour period after treatment with tranexamic acid or placebo.

Researchers found a trend towards reduced hemorrhage expansion in the group treated with tranexamic acid, especially in those treated within 3 hours of the brain bleed. However, this trend was not statistically significant. The finding was consistent with previous research using the medication.

"Further trials using tranexamic acid are ongoing and focusing on ultra-early treatment - within 2 hours.

This is where the greatest opportunity for intervention appears to be. Tranexamic acid is inexpensive, safe and widely available. Our results and others provide great impetus for further, focused research using this treatment," Nawaf Yassi said.

Larger trials focused on patient outcomes are required for this therapy to enter routine clinical practice.

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Lung cancer rates are rising in young women

Agencies

February 6,2020

Researchers have found the rates of lung cancer are higher in young women than men.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, examined lung cancer rates in young adults in 40 countries across five continents and uncovered a trend of higher lung cancer rates in women compared with men in recent years.

The emerging trend was widespread, affecting countries across varied geographic locations and income levels.

The changes appeared to be driven by a rising rate of adenocarcinoma lung cancer among women, said the study researchers from University of Calgary in Canada.

Lung cancer rates have been higher among men than women because men started smoking in large numbers earlier and smoked at higher rates; however, recent studies have reported converging lung cancer incidence rates between sexes.

Among men, age specific lung cancer incidence rates generally decreased in all countries, while in women the rates varied across countries with the trends in most countries stable or declining, albeit at a slower pace compared to those in men.

For the findings, lung and bronchial cancer cases between 30-64 age group from 1993-2012 were extracted from cancer incidence in five continents.

The study found the higher emerging rates of lung cancer in young women compared to young men.

According to the researchers, future studies are needed to identify reasons for the elevated incidence of lung cancer among young women.

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