Ultrasound reveals autism risk at birth

Monday, February 25, 2013

Low-birth-weight babies with a particular brain abnormality are at greater risk for autism, according to a new study that could provide doctors a signpost for early detection of the still poorly understood disorder.

Led by Michigan State University, the study found that low-birth-weight newborns were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with autism later in life if an ultrasound taken just after birth showed they had enlarged ventricles, cavities in the brain that store spinal fluid. The results appear in the Journal of Pediatrics.

"For many years there's been a lot of controversy about whether vaccinations or environmental factors influence the development of autism, and there's always the question of at what age a child begins to develop the disorder," said lead author Tammy Movsas, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at MSU and medical director of the Midland County Department of Public Health.

"What this study shows us is that an ultrasound scan within the first few days of life may already be able to detect brain abnormalities that indicate a higher risk of developing autism."

Movsas and colleagues reached that conclusion by analyzing data from a cohort of 1,105 low-birth-weight infants born in the mid-1980s. The babies had cranial ultrasounds just after birth so the researchers could look for relationships between brain abnormalities in infancy and health disorders that showed up later. Participants also were screened for autism when they were 16 years old, and a subset of them had a more rigorous test at 21, which turned up 14 positive diagnoses.

Ventricular enlargement is found more often in premature babies and may indicate loss of a type of brain tissue called white matter.

"This study suggests further research is needed to better understand what it is about loss of white matter that interferes with the neurological processes that determine autism," said co-author Nigel Paneth, an MSU epidemiologist who helped organize the cohort. "This is an important clue to the underlying brain issues in autism."

Prior studies have shown an increased rate of autism in low-birth-weight and premature babies, and earlier research by Movsas and Paneth found a modest increase in symptoms among autistic children born early or late.

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Michigan State University: http://www.newsroom.msu.edu

Thanks to Michigan State University for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127003/Ultrasound_reveals_autism_risk_at_birth

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Integral Options Cafe: Sounds True: The Self-Acceptance Project ...

From Sounds True, a new FREE 12-week program on self-acceptance (begins March 4), featuring some of the leading figures in the personal growth field, including Brene Brown, Kristin Neff, Robert Agustus Masters, and Tara Brach, among many others.

You can regsiter here.

A FREE 12-week Video Event Series, beginning Monday, March 4, 2013.

Self-acceptance is one of our most difficult challenges, no matter how much meditation or therapy we?ve tried. In this FREE 12-week video event series, Tami Simon speaks with contemporary luminaries in spirituality, psychology, and creativity to learn how we can truly embrace who we are.

No matter how much spiritual practice, self-improvement, or therapy we?ve undertaken, there is one area where many of us still find ourselves challenged every day: self-acceptance. It seems all too easy to fall into the trap of judging ourselves as inadequate, finding fault with our achievements or our bodies, and believing our self-critical inner voices that insist we?ll never measure up to who we ought to be. Is there a solution?

Sounds True created The Self-Acceptance Project to find out.

In this FREE online video event series, each week Tami Simon will speak with two contemporary luminaries in the fields of spirituality, psychology, and creativity. Together they will explore the questions around self-acceptance?and investigate how we can overcome the difficulties of embracing who we are. Where do our self-critical voices come from? Can we silence them, or is there a better way to deal with them? Can we be motivated to change and excel while still accepting ourselves as we are? Why is it often so much easier to feel compassion and forgiveness towards others than towards ourselves?

The Self-Acceptance Project was created to offer you insights, practices, and strategies for living with a sense of your own fundamental worthiness. In this 12-week free video series, you?ll hear from a wide variety of thinkers and teachers as they share their stories and wisdom about self-acceptance, including:

The Self-Acceptance Project Guests:

• Geneen Roth, author of When Food Is Food and Love Is Love
• Bren? Brown, PhD, author of The Power of Vulnerability
• Parker Palmer, author of the audio program An Undivided Life
• Harville Hendrix, PhD, author of Finding and Keeping Love
• Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Self-Acceptance
• Kelly McGonigal, author of The Neuroscience of Change
• Robert Augustus Masters, PhD, author of Knowing Your Shadow
• Kristin Neff, PhD, author of Self-Compassion
• Mark Nepo, author of Staying Awake
• Rick Hanson, author of Meditations to Change Your Brain
• Steven C. Hayes, PhD, author of Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life
• Bruce Tift, author of Already Free
• Sharon Salzberg, author of The Kindness Handbook
• Karla McLaren, author of The Language of Emotions
• Judith Blackstone, author of The Realization Process
• Raphael Cushnir, author of The One Thing Holding You Back
• Jeff Foster, author of The Deepest Acceptance
• Reggie Ray, author of Mahamudra for the Modern World
• Friedemann Schaub, author of The Fear and Anxiety Solution
• Cheri Huber, author of Unconditional Self-Acceptance
• Jay Earley, author of Self-Therapy (to be released in 10/2013)
• Erin Olivo, PhD, MPH, author of Free Yourself from Anxiety

At Sounds True, we have come to recognize that self-acceptance is one of the most difficult yet vital challenges of the human journey. Beginning March 4, 2013, we invite you to join us for an investigation into the heart of our relationship with ourselves?so we may discover how to treat ourselves with kindness, compassion, and love.

Each week, a new video event will be available to stream/download by 7 pm Eastern Time (GMT -4).

Source: http://integral-options.blogspot.com/2013/02/sounds-true-self-acceptance-project.html

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Boise lawyer pushes for a way to fund highways that could bring jobs to Idahoans

Girders span the Boise River as part of the Idaho 16 extension from State Street to Chinden Boulevard.

Chris Butler ? cbutler@idahostatesman.comBuy Photo

In the concrete and steel of the Idaho 16 extension now being built from State Street south to Chinden Boulevard lies both potential and frustration for Treasure Valley economic development.

The 2.5-mile, $140 million project is part of a planned north-south highway from Emmett to I-84 that will spawn new industries, homes and retail shops, bringing jobs and paychecks.

But there's a problem. The biggest payoff in new development will come after Idaho 16 is extended again from Chinden south to the freeway. That dream has been deferred indefinitely.

That four-mile extension would cost an estimated $350 million. The Idaho Transportation Department doesn't have the money. With more than a half billion dollars in state and local road and bridge maintenance needs, Idaho isn't putting any more money into new construction anytime soon for the Idaho 16 extension or anything else.

"Our economy is going to be stuck in neutral unless we develop infrastructure," said Jeremy Pisca, a Boise lawyer and lobbyist working on a bill to pay for economically worthy roads ITD can't afford. One of Pisca's clients is M3, a large master planned community bordering Idaho 16 that would benefit from the fast connection to I-84.

Pisca wants the Legislature to authorize what he calls transportation and economic-development zones around new road construction in high-growth areas of the state. A portion of state sales tax revenue from sales the road made possible would be set aside to pay for it.

That could mean less sales tax revenue for the services provided by the state, cities and counties, including public schools and higher education, than would be available if growth-generated tax revenue weren't diverted to road construction. But Pisca believes the economic benefits will actually produce more tax revenue, making up for the loss.

The idea is drawing interest from lawmakers, road builders and economic developers, though even sympathetic lawmakers are withholding support until they see details. Pisca doesn't have an actual bill yet.

"I think this an idea that could work in principle," said state Sen. Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa, whose district is near where Idaho 16 may connect with I-84. "It does address the funding question."

The plan has critics, too. Boise Mayor Dave Bieter said Pisca's proposal is based on a "risky funding mechanism." Bieter said improving east-west corridors like Idaho 44 (State Street) and Idaho 20/26 (Chinden Boulevard) should be a higher priority.

Pisca said a completed Idaho 16 would ease traffic on the two state highways. He said his bill could be used to pay for improvements along those highways, too.

"Blocking this legislation pushes the east-west corridor (improvements) off for yet another number of unknown years, compounding the problem as residential and commercial construction continues within that corridor," he said.

McKenzie wants to know where money would come from to pay for road maintenance on new highways in a state that can't afford to maintain the roads it has.

Pisca is reworking a bill introduced late in the 2012 session by Rep. Mike Moyle, R-Star, the House majority leader, whose district includes the M3 site. Pisca said he wanted the bill introduced then to give lawmakers a chance to become familiar with the concept.

Here is how it would work:

The Idaho departments of Commerce and Transportation would jointly consider areas where an enterprise zone would work. They would hire an independent economist to estimate the economic return from a zone to help make sure it would provide sufficient revenue to pay for a highway.

The proposal could leave taxpayers on the hook if too little development occurs in a zone to pay off bonds sold to finance construction. Pisca said the risk is small.

The economic zone is a "creative new financial tool," Pisca said. "(You can't) eliminate 100 percent of the risk all the time."

Even with Pisca's proposed safeguards, an economic zone could be affected by a recession like the one that struck the country at the end of 2007.

"I think if you are saying, 'It is going to be so bad that we wouldn't be able to repay this thing,' you've got a pretty dim view of what is going to happen to Idaho's economy," said John Church, a Boise economist who has done economic projections on Idaho 16.

Pisca said an Idaho 16 zone would have another benefit: taking some commuters off clogged Eagle Road.

"Constructing a controlled access corridor gives the valley a true north-south route for movement of people and goods and services," Pisca said.

Bill Roberts: 377-6408

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IdahostatesmancomNewsUpdates/~3/QsQbMRA2kAM/roads-to-prosperity.html

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The Benefits of Buying a Home with a VA Loan

If you are a veteran, an active service member, a reservist, an eligible surviving spouse, or a member of the Public Health Service, it is well worth your time to look into a home loan funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Here are six big reasons why a VA loan can work to your advantage as a homeowner:

1. If you are a qualified buyer, a VA loan lets you purchase a home with no down payment. This is certainly one of the greatest financial advantages open to a new homeowner. Research shows that, for most Americans, the single greatest obstacle to getting into their own home is saving up the down payment conventional banks and other lending institutions require.
2. There are no monthly insurance premium payments on a VA loan. VA loans are guaranteed by the U.S. government, which is the ?benefit? part of your VA loan. The average VA loan homeowner saves over a thousand dollars a year in insurance premiums.
3. There are no lender fees or point required. With the U.S. federal government as the loan guarantor, the normal fees that a bank or other lending institution typically adds to the loan transaction do not apply. This simple waiver of fees can result in thousands of dollars of savings, depending on the circumstances and the value of your home.
4. You can refinance to a lower interest rate with an Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing Loan (IRRRL), requiring no appraisal or income verification in most cases. You can either finance the cost of the refinance into your loan amount or the lender may pay your closing costs. You are not required to have cash in the transaction to qualify for an IRRRL.
5. You don?t have to be a first-time home buyer to qualify for a VA loan. While there are policies governing the qualification for VA loans, provisions have been made to accommodate the home buyer in a range of varying circumstances. Qualified buyers can reuse their VA home loan benefits, so long as they keep within the specified requirements. The bottom line here: it?s worth your time to look into getting a VA loan, even if this isn?t your first home.
6. Current financial circumstances in the U.S. have created a window of opportunity for the qualified buyer looking to get a VA loan. The real estate market is loaded with properties at value prices. The recent real estate crash and devaluation of home prices means that you have market full of attractive homes to choose from?and at bargain prices among the best in recent memory.

   The VA also has a large selection of foreclosed homes that you can choose from. The department markets its foreclosed homes through its Real Estate Owned (REO) property list, managed by BAC Home Loan Servicing, LP. These properties are listed by agents through your local Multiple Listing System (MLS).

The Department of Veterans Affairs has a wealth of information on their website : http://www.va.gov, including a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section that you will find very informational. If you want information and a resource list that is a little closer to home, you can search online for your state government?s department of Veterans Affairs.

Source: http://www.lowvarates.com/va-loan-blog/the-benefits-of-buying-a-home-with-a-va-loan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-benefits-of-buying-a-home-with-a-va-loan

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