Pediatricians urged to watch for signs of autism
 
CHICAGO, May 7 (Reuters) - There is no cure for autism, which can leave children emotionally remote and noncommunicative, but doctors should watch for signs and help families cope, a pediatrics group said on Monday.

The mysterious affliction that impairs learning and sociability in up to 4 out of 10,000 children -- three times as many boys as girls -- likely has a genetic basis, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a policy statement published in its journal, Pediatrics.

The statement urged doctors to be particularly vigilant to parental reports of developmental problems if the child's sibling has the condition, which can be recognized by repetitive behaviors and restricted communication skills and interests. The risk of recurrence of autism in a family ranges from 3 percent to 7 percent, the group said.

Though there is no laboratory test for autism, an afflicted child should be checked for lead poisoning or an abnormal appetite for things like dried paint, clay or starch.

Families can undergo genetic counseling and be apprised of the latest literature and support groups to help them manage an autistic child.

Families that pursue alternative therapies for an autistic child should also be offered compassion and objectivity from their doctors, the group said.

However, one experimental treatment using injections of the pig hormone, porcine secretin, was found to have no benefit, according to a separate study published in the journal.

The hormone normally stimulates the pancreas to produce substances used to digest food, but some clinical reports have suggested it might help autistic children become more communicative. In the study, half of 64 autistic children given two injections of the hormone over a six-week period showed no therapeutic effect compared to a control group receiving an inert placebo.

In another policy statement, a special panel of experts assembled in 2000 by  the pediatrics group attempted to put to rest mistaken concerns that so-called MMR vaccinations -- the vaccine combination that protects children against measles, mumps and rubella -- were to blame for causing autism or inflammatory bowel syndrome.

The panel declared the available evidence did not support the hypothesis that the vaccines delivered together caused either autism or the bowel syndrome. It also sought to dispel notions that administering the vaccines separately might prevent the conditions.

14:18 05-07-01

 

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