HEALTH AND SCIENCE - Oxytocin May Help Autism Symptoms
Oxytocin, sometimes called the "love hormone," has been thought to encourage bonding between a mother and her baby. Now, it seems that a study may also show that the hormone, when administered through an inhaler, may alleviate the symptoms of autism in some patients. The study involved 13 individuals who had been diagnosed with high functioning autism. Eleven of the participants were men and two were women. The experiment involved how the autism patients focused on other people's faces. Most people with autism have a hard time looking people in the face while communicating, which leads to their poor social skills and inability to be comfortable during normal social interactions. The results of the experiment showed that after the oxytocin was administered, the participants paid much closer attention to facial expressions in pictures and had a better understanding of social cues in a game situation. The reason why doctors believed that there was a connection in oxytocin was not only because it connects mothers to their babies, but also because children diagnosed with autism are usually found to have very low oxytocin levels. If this test proves to be successful in further trials, they may be able to begin administering oxytocin treatments to people at a much younger age and counteract the onset of impaired social interactions entirely. With an estimated 1 in 110 children being diagnosed with autism, experiments like this could have a potentially huge impact on our society. To read the original article, please go to http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61E4NA20100216 Regards "Perhaps our role on this planet is not to worship God-- but to create Him." --Arthur C. Clarke (Rajesh Asudani) Assistant General Manager, Reserve Bank of India Nagpur 09420397185 O: 0712 2806676 Res: 0712 2591349 ________________________________ Notice: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, use, review, distribution, printing or copying of the information contained in this e-mail message and/or attachments to it are strictly prohibited. If you have received this email by error, please notify us by return e-mail or telephone and immediately and permanently delete the message and any attachments. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The Bank accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email. To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
