Young children with speech delays often visit audiologists to have their hearing checked but might not tolerate wearing headphones, abnormal noises, or exhibit poor eye contact. Researchers at the Madigan Army Medical Center (AMC) www.mamc.amedd.army.mil have found that some of these subtle behaviors presented at audiology screenings can indicate autism in some children.
The goal is to shorten the time to diagnose children with autism so that therapy can begin. In a study of almost 300 children, children found to be noncompliant while undergoing hearing tests were later found to be five times as likely to be diagnosed with autism, reports Capt. (Dr.) Sean Meagher, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Fellow at Madigan.
Meagher, is working with audiologists to administer autism screenings with noncompliant children. Based on the scores, these children may be referred to their primary care managers and/or to professionals specialized in developmental pediatrics.
To provide further treatments for autism, Madigan will be opening the Department of Defense’s first autism service center in early 2017 to be called the “JBLM CARES Center”. The Center will offer occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, as well as leading behavioral therapy specifically for autism patients.
In another Army study related specifically to babies, it was found that magnesium sulfate can possible reduce the occurrence of babies born with cerebral palsy as a common complication of prematurity.
While using magnesium sulfate has been known to reduce cerebral palsy, the medical field needs to study how magnesium sulfate works and document what other positive effects magnesium sulfate may possibly have.
In a further study, it was found that when magnesium sulfate was administered along with a steroid commonly given to help babies with lung development, there were long-term positive effects beyond the prevention of cerebral palsy. Specifically, these two treatments appear to protect neurons in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that affects memory, learning, and spatial navigation.
Researchers are going to continue to do future studies on how else magnesium sulfate and steroids might protect babies that are born premature and if magnesium sulfate could also provide benefits to other conditions including combat-related traumatic brain injuries.