Q71. Should people with HIV tell their doctor, dentist, and other health care providers?
From the HIV Avatar Project, posted by the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health at the University of Florida hiv-avatar-project.com http://b...

By: UF Behavioral Science and Community Health

Read more here:
Q71. Should people with HIV tell their doctor, dentist, and other health care providers? - Video

Q67. What are the symptoms of HIV infection?
From the HIV Avatar Project, posted by the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health at the University of Florida hiv-avatar-project.com http://b...

By: UF Behavioral Science and Community Health

Read more from the original source:
Q67. What are the symptoms of HIV infection? - Video

74. Why do health care providers need to know the CD4 cell counts and viral load tests?
From the HIV Avatar Project, posted by the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health at the University of Florida hiv-avatar-project.com http://b...

By: UF Behavioral Science and Community Health

Read more:
74. Why do health care providers need to know the CD4 cell counts and viral load tests? - Video

Q70. Do women with HIV need special medical care?
From the HIV Avatar Project, posted by the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health at the University of Florida hiv-avatar-project.com http://bsch.phhp.ufl.edu/

By: UF Behavioral Science and Community Health

Read the original post:
Q70. Do women with HIV need special medical care? - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

22-Oct-2014

Contact: Aurelia Grayson aurelia.grayson@autismspeaks.org 646-385-8531 Autism Speaks @autismspeaks

New York, N.Y. (October 22, 2014) -- Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, has selected two major research projects one focused on intestinal bacteria, the other on chronic constipation to advance understanding of autism's gut-brain connection. Funding for the studies, each spanning three years, will total more than $2.3 million.

Research conducted through the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN) has demonstrated that gastrointestinal (GI) problems are very common among individuals who have autism and can worsen behavioral symptoms. In the fall of 2012, this progress was reflected in a series of guidelines on the management of autism-related medical conditions including chronic constipation published in the respected journal Pediatrics. Other research sponsored by Autism Speaks showed that in mice deliberate changes in the bacteria in the gut (known as "microbiome") can affect social behavior.

To follow-up on these breakthrough findings, Autism Speaks launched an initiative to fund new research on the "gut-brain" connection in autism. The most promising applicants were judged on the basis of potential impact and the soundness of their science. Proposals were reviewed by Autism Speaks science staff and a panel of scientific experts and family advisors.

"Listening to our parents, we hear how often autism and GI problems can go hand in hand." says Autism Speaks Chief Science Officer Rob Ring. "While we now know that autism and gastrointestinal problems frequently co-occur, improving our understanding of the underlying biology becomes essential for developing needed treatments."

The selected projects include an investigation led by Prof. James Versalovic, at Baylor College of Medicine, into the connection between the microbiome and autism symptoms. A second research grant will go to Prof. Pat Levitt, at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) and University of Southern California, for research into the treatment of chronic constipation to improve behavioral symptoms associated with autism.

Autism and the microbiome

Dr. Versalovic will lead an in-depth analysis of the microbiome the gut's complex community of digestive bacteria. In doing so, his team will look for changes in the microbiome that relate to autism symptoms and GI problems. Dr. Versalovic is a world pioneer in the study of the human microbiome. His team will also look for signs of metabolic disturbances in the children participating in the study.

View original post here:
Autism Speaks commits $2.3 million to research on gut-brain connection

Children who show poor decision-making skills at age 10 or 11 may be more likely to experience interpersonal and behavioral difficulties that have the potential to lead to high-risk health behavior in their teen years, according to a new study from Oregon State University psychology professor.

"These findings suggest that less-refined decision skills early in life could potentially be a harbinger for problem behavior in the future," said Joshua Weller, an assistant professor in the School of Psychological Science in OSU's College of Liberal Arts.

However, if poor decision-making patterns can be identified while children are still young, parents, educators and health professionals may have an opportunity to intervene and help those children enhance these skills, said Weller, who studies individual differences in decision-making.

"This research underscores that decision-making is a skill and it can be taught," he said. "The earlier you teach these skills, the potential for improving outcomes increases."

His findings were published recently in the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. Co-authors are Maxwell Moholy of Idaho State University and Elaine Bossard and Irwin P. Levin of the University of Iowa. The research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

The researchers wanted to better understand how pre-adolescent children's decision-making skills predicted later behavior. To do so, they conducted follow-up assessments with children who had participated in a previous decision-making study.

About 100 children, ages 10 and 11, participated in the original study, where they answered questions that helped assess their decision-making skills. They were evaluated based on how they perceived the risks of a decision, their ability to use appropriate decision-making rules and whether their confidence about a decision matched their actual knowledge on a subject.

For the new study, researchers invited the original study participants -- now 12 and 13 years old -- and their parents back for a follow-up. In all, 76 children ages participated in the second study, which included a behavior assessment that was completed by both the parent and the child.

The behavior assessment included questions about emotional difficulties, conduct issues such as fighting or lying and problems with peers. Those kinds of behavioral issues are often linked to risky health behavior for teens, including substance abuse or high-risk sexual activity, Weller said.

Researchers compared each child's scores from the initial decision-making assessment to the child's and their parent's behavioral reports. They found that children who scored worse on the initial decision-making assessment were more likely to have behavioral problems two years later.

Visit link:
Child's poor decision-making skills can predict later behavior problems, research shows