Posted on Autism

Otago researchers help debunk harmful misconception about Autism Is this good news do you agree?

Research Fellow Nick Bowden, from the Department of Women's and Children's Health, at the University of Otago


Research Fellow Nick Bowden, from the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, at the University of Otago CREDIT University of Otago

University of Otago researchers are helping to breakdown stigma and discrimination faced by Autistic people – debunking historical and harmful misinformation.

Research Fellow from the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Nick Bowden, led the study which compared the rates of criminal justice system interactions among young adults with and without Autism in Aotearoa and explored whether offence types differ between these groups.

Mr Bowden says, prior to this research, which is published in the academic journal Autism, little was known about the pathway through the criminal justice system for Autistic people.

Despite that, there is a historical belief that there is a link between Autism and criminal behaviour, a narrative shaped by highly publicised criminal cases and sensationalist headlines, he says.

The researchers employed a birth cohort study design – following 149,076 people born in Aotearoa between July 1, 1992 and June 30, 1995.

Health data were used to identify 1,197 individuals with Autism, and criminal justice system data to explore interactions with police, courts, and prison for all these young people, from their 17th until their 25th birthdays.

The study found young Autistic people in Aotearoa had significantly lower rates of criminal justice system interactions, including being proceeded against by police, charged in court, and convicted in court, compared to those without autism.

However, if they were charged in court, Autistic young people were more likely to face charges of serious and violent offences, offences against the person, offences against property, and be imprisoned compared to those without autism.

Mr Bowden says, while there is some existing research looking at Autism in the criminal justice system, those studies tend to use small and often biased samples and focused on only one part of the justice system.

The research team wanted to provide much-needed data in this space for Aotearoa and shed light on the experiences of Autistic young people who come in contact with the criminal justice system, he says.

Assistant Research Fellow from the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Joanne Dacombe, co-authored the study and is Autistic.

She says Autistic people often face stigma and discrimination and this research has potential to remove some of that.

“Historical misconceptions have been damaging, allowing stigma to be perpetuated, with Autistics often facing hostility as a result. This can increase anxiety for Autistics and their whānau.”

This harmful misinformation creates a reluctance to hire Autistics, invite them to societal groups, and leads to bullying, she says.

Without good evidence to debunk the misinformation, it can be continually perpetuated, which is why this type of research becomes important.

Mrs Dacombe hopes the findings will help professionals and parents realise the importance of a diagnosis.  

“It may help give parents hope around the advocacy they do for their children and young people, by showing the benefits of the advocacy and increased understanding that has gone on behind the scenes, by both Autistics and organisations,” she says.

“It also shows the need for further advocacy, understanding, and research opportunities.”

Posted on Pain Management

Later hit: Does cannabis ease pain, speed recovery in injured athletes?

Revolutionary mmj patch successfully treats fibromyalgia and diabetics nerve pain

Increasingly, professional athletes in sports ranging from football to bicycling to long-distance running have turned to using cannabis to reduce pain from post-game injuries and to help speed recovery.

Anecdotal reports of cannabis’ purported benefits abound, but empirical evidence is scant. Today, the National Football League announced funding of a novel clinical trial that will assess the therapeutic efficacy (and any possible adverse effects) of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis; cannabidiol (CBD), the second most prevalent active ingredient in cannabis but not psychoactive; and a combination of the two for treating post-competition pain caused by soft tissue injury, compared to a placebo.

Co-led by Mark Wallace, MD, a pain management specialist and director of the Center for Pain Medicine at UC San Diego Health, and Thomas Marcotte, PhD, professor of psychiatry at University of California School of Medicine and co-director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) at UC San Diego, the randomized, double-blind trial will involve testing and monitoring of professional rugby players.

Professional rugby was chosen for the first trial because it approximates the types of injuries also experienced by NFL players, the researchers said, and was logistically more feasible.

“An innovation of this research is using a ‘real-world model’ of the NFL’s competitive injury burden with a group of elite athletes who experience similar injuries,” said Marcotte. “It’s a first-of-its-kind randomized trial to examine the possible practical efficacy of cannabinoids on post-competition pain.”

The primary goal of the trial will be to evaluate pain relief and recovery. Secondary goals include assessment of any effects on physical function, sleep, cognition and mood.

Participating athletes who report post-game pain that meets a specific threshold will have a blood sample drawn and be assigned to vaporize either 4 percent THC, 12 percent CBD, a combination of THC and CBD at those percentages or a placebo for up to four times per day over the following 48 hours. They will be asked to self-report pain scores via a cell phone application at regular intervals during those 48 hours. A second blood draw will be taken the day after each game.

Practicing, competing and living with pain are unavoidable elements of a professional athlete’s life. As a result, efforts to ameliorate the negative effects of pain are long-standing, and include the use of prescription pain medications, including opioids.

Cannabis has been used for medical purposes for centuries around the world. Increasingly, there are efforts to develop and promote it as a safer pharmacological alternative to other forms of pain relief and there is some scientific research suggesting that THC is effective in relieving certain types of pain.

Wallace, a professor of anesthesiology and chief of the Division of Pain Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, has integrated the use of medical cannabis into clinical practice.

“Much of the knowledge we used for dosing medical cannabis in our pain clinic came from the studies supported by CMCR, which showed there is a therapeutic window of analgesia with low doses of THC reducing pain and high doses worsening pain.

“We will build on the CMCR research and our clinical experience to translate efficacy and safety for sports injury recovery.”

The trial will be conducted following regulatory reviews by the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the UC San Diego Institutional Review Board and the Research Advisory Panel of California.

Though no conclusions can be drawn until the study is completed and data analyzed, investigators hypothesize that THC and THC/CBD combinations will prove superior to CBD and placebo for pain reduction; and CBD alone will prove superior to placebo.

Posted on Autism, Mental health

AN AUTISTIC TEEN HELPING POLICE LEARN TO HELP THOSE IN A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

A TEEN WITH AUTISM HELPING POLICE LEARN TO HELP THOSE IN A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS - YouTube

Of the nearly one thousand people killed by police in 2018, one in four were suffering from a mental health crisis. That’s according to a study by the Washington Post. Those kind of numbers are putting a new focus on the need for more training on de-escalation and crisis intervention skills. Matter of Fact correspondent Diane Roberts meets police ambassador Jake Edwards, a Maryland teen who’s giving special training inspired by his own personal experience.




Posted on Diabetes

Heavy cannabis use by female adults associated with lower incidence of diabetes

The study found no association between diabetes and cannabis use for female adults who lightly use cannabis nor for male adults with any level or no use

A new study recently published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research found that women who heavily used cannabis had lower incidence of diabetes, a chronic condition that prevents the body from either making enough insulin (type 1) or being able to use insulin efficiently (type 2).

Approximately one in 10 Americans has diabetes, and the condition accounted for 87,647 deaths in the United States in 2019, making it the seventh leading cause of death for that year.

For the study, Texas A&M University School of Public Health graduate students Ayobami Ogunsola, Samuel Smith, Udeh Mercy and Olatunji Eniola, along with a colleague from Hofstra University, analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2018). From approximately 15,000 participants. The majority of participants were female, white (non-Hispanic), over 40, and had at least a college-level education. Cannabis use was estimated on the basis of exposure and frequency of use with smoking cannabis fewer than four times per month deemed “light use,” and “heavy use” defined as four or more times per month. Diabetes status was determined by physician diagnosis or meeting criteria for plasma glucose, fasting blood glucose or hemoglobin A1C levels.

Female participants who used cannabis heavily were less likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than female participants who did not use cannabis. Light cannabis use by female participants had no association with diabetes diagnosis. Researchers found no association in male participants between diabetes and any level of cannabis use.

Previous research has shown that the endocannabinoid system, a series of neurotransmitters and receptors in the nervous system involved in numerous biological processes, has different effects depending on sex. Cannabidol and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabidol, two key compounds in cannabis, stimulate receptors in the endocannabinoid system that result in improved glucose disposal. The authors note that this is one possible explanation for the sex-based difference found during their study.

Further research is needed to better understand the association observed in this study, especially to analyze the individual and contextual variables and mechanisms that may be responsible.