BOSTON - MedPage Today reported six genes not tied to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) before were implicated by scientists who used a genetic map approach relying on large families where parents are closely related.  Using "homozygosity mapping" with 104 Middle Eastern families with ASD children, scientists identified genetic regions where DNA parts were deleted from the chromosomes of affected children, Dr. Christopher Walsh, of Children's Hospital, and colleagues said.  Interestingly, only one gene was missing completely.  The other five were near deleted DNA areas and - while themselves intact - seem to have lost control segments, the team wrote in the journal Science.  Results reinforce the diversity of Autism causes, Dr. Walsh said, but appear to implicate a "common cellular mechanism" - the postnatal synaptic development in the brain guided by environment.  "We learn by having neurons change their connections to each other," he said.  If that process were to be disturbed by genetic mutations, it might lead to Autism, he added.  Understanding exactly how these genetic changes affect postnatal development "might give us a way to develop treatments," Dr. Walsh said.

ROCKVILLE, MD - The nation’s 10 most expensive medical conditions cost about $500 billion to treat in 2005, notes News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.  The money is paid for visits to doctor's offices, clinics and emergency departments, hospital stays, home health care and prescription medicines.  Estimated spending for the 10 most expensive conditions: Heart conditions, $76 billion; trauma disorders, $72 billion; cancer, $70 billion; mental disorders, including depression,  $56.0 billion; asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, $54 billion; high blood pressure, $42 billion; type 2 diabetes, $34 billion; osteoarthritis and other joint diseases, $34 billion; back problems, $32 billion, and normal childbirth, $32 billion, AHRQ, part of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, works to enhance the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of U.S. health care.  The data are from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, a detailed source of information on the health services used by Americans, frequency with which they’re used, cost of those services, and how they’re paid.  For the medical care costs of other conditions in 2005, go to www.meps.ahrq.gov, and under "MEPS Topics" click "Health Care Costs," "Expenditures by Medical Condition," and then click on Table 3.

WASHINGTON - The Associated Press noted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned doctors that prescribing a certain group of psychiatric drugs to seniors with dementia can raise their risk of death.  Antipsychotic drugs are okayed to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disease, but doctors often prescribe them to treat elderly patients with dementia.  FDA's announcement updated a 2005 action, when regulators added warnings about more heart attacks and pneumonia to drugs called atypical antipsychotics.  The medicines include Eli Lilly & Co.'s Zyprexa and Johnson & Johnson Co.'s Risperdal.  FDA said those same risks apply to 11 older drugs known as typical antipsychotics, including Pfizer's Navane and Endo Pharmaceutical's Moban.  The drugs were developed in the 1950s and most have been replaced by the newer medications, which are believed to have fewer side effects, such as tremors.

COLUMBUS, OH - Consumers who get prescription medications at a pharmacy drive-through window might be exchanging safety for convenience.  A study indicates pharmacists who work at locations with drive-through windows believe the extra distractions tied to window service add to processing delays, less efficiency, and even dispensing errors.  Surveyed pharmacists reported the design and layout of their workplace has an impact on dispensing accuracy, especially the presence of drive-through window pick-up services.  The study suggests pharmacy design should emphasize minimal workflow interruptions and cautions consumers to check prescriptions, especially those bought at a pharmacy’s drive-through window, said Sheryl Szeinbach, the study’s lead author and a professor of pharmacy practice and administration at Ohio State University.  The results were published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care.  With the number of U,.S. prescriptions dispensed annually nearing the 4 billion mark, Szeinbach said the public is best served by pharmacists with the fewest possible distractions.  Even with stringent internal quality controls, pharmacists nationally make an estimated 5.7 errors per 10,000 prescriptions processed, the study found.

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Scientists pinpointed a set of common variations in human DNA that signal a higher risk for Lupus in women who carry them.  Some variations are more common in relatives of Lupus patients, which may help future studies of whether Lupus is more prevalent among certain racial and ethnic groups.  Findings point to various drug targets important to the search for cutting-edge Lupus treatments, states an international consortium of genetics scientists including some at the University of Alabama/Birmingham (UAB).  "Building on this finding, we hope to identify those at highest risk of Lupus, diagnose it earlier, and hopefully find a cure," said Dr. Robert Kimberly, professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology and co-author of the study.  Findings were in Nature Genetics.  The study is from the International Consortium for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, of which UAB is a member.  Checking genomes of 6,728 people, scientists found variations on various chromosomes in women of European ancestry.

WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. disclosed the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government  announced qualified organizations may apply for a grant through the Administration on Aging’s Open Solicitation.  Grants will support projects that further the purposes of Title IV of the Older Americans Act, as amended, the AoA strategic plan, and the AoA mission.  Title IV projects must: test new and innovative ways to design and delivery programs/services for older persons; expand knowledge and understanding of the older population and the aging process; help meet the needs for trained personnel in the field of aging; and/or increase awareness of the need for individuals to assume responsibility for their own longevity.  Applications are due Sept. 12.  The solicitation for applications is at info.thearc.org.

DALLAS - Using embryonic stem cells from mice, University of Texas’ Southwestern Medical Center scientists prompted growth of healthy - and functioning - muscle cells in mice with a human model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (MD).  Reportedly, the study is the first time such transplanted stem cells were shown to restore function to defective muscles in a model of MD.  The scientists’ new technique, which involves stringent sorting to preserve all stem cells destined to become muscle, avoids risk of tumor formation while improving overall muscle strength and coordination of the mice, scientists found.  Mice used lacked dystrophin, the protein humans with the fatal wasting disease are missing.  The study, headed by Dr. Rita Perlingeiro, assistant professor of developmental biology and molecular biology, was in Nature Medicine.  "We envision developing a stem cell therapy for humans with MD, if we are able to combine this approach successfully with technology now available to make human embryonic stem cells from reprogrammed skin cells," Dr. Perlingeiro said.  "These cells can be transplanted into the muscle and cause muscle regeneration resulting in stronger contractility."  The study represents a major step, she said, because scientists were able to tease out exactly the cells they wanted.

BOSTON - Boston.com disclosed people who suffer from sinusitis list chronic fatigue as one of their most troubling symptoms, equal to facial pain and a blocked nose.  Sometimes their exhaustion is explained as sick building syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, or multiple chemical sensitivity.  An analysis led by a group including a Boston researcher shows surgery to clear clogged sinuses appears to improve their energy substantially.  Senior author Dr. Neil Bhattacharyya, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, with scientists from Georgetown University Medical Center, St. Louis University School of Medicine, and Oregon Health and Science University, checked 28 studies of 3,427 patients who had endoscopic sinus surgery to remove blockages.  All studies showed patients who reported fatigue before surgery said their energy returned to normal levels an average of one year later, authors report in Laryngoscope.  "Finally, we have good, scientifically consistent evidence that fatigue will very often improve significantly after surgery," Dr. Bhattacharyya stated.

WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. disclosed In the Driver’s Seat: A Guide to Self-directed Mental Health Care allows consumers and advocates to find data and tools.  The guide summarizes consumer goals and rights, and lists strategies by states to support these services.  Fact sheets, plus questions/answers add data on financing, eligibility, evaluation, planning, and support brokerage.  Source: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

SEATTLE – The Seattle Times reported Dennis "Rocky" Rockenbach was billed $66,000 after an operating room mistake left him with severe burns.  The Washington State Hospital Association, Washington State Medical Association, and the Washington State Ambulatory Surgery Center Association say medical providers will stop billing patients for procedures that result in any of these situations: Surgery on wrong body part, wrong patient, wrong procedure, unintended retention of foreign object post surgery/procedure, postoperative death in ASA Class 1 (healthy) patient.  Product or device events: patient death, serious disability from use or function of contaminated drugs,  devices, or biologics; patient death, serious disability associated with the use or function of a device in patient care in which the device is used or functions other than as intended, and patient death, serious disability associated with intravascular air embolism.

BOSTON - HealthDay News noted a 45-minute midday nap can help boost your memory and remember facts, but only if you learned them well in the first place, a study suggests.  This is called "declarative memory" and applies to standard textbook learning and knowledge versus "procedural memory," which applies to skills.  Sleep appears to help "set" these declarative memories and make them easier to recall, scientists said.  "Sleep appears to have an impact on what is learned well, but not so much when one isn’t motivated to learn," said lead researcher Matthew A. Tucker, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School's Center for Sleep and Cognition.  Tests included memorizing words, memorizing a maze, and memorizing a complex line drawing.  Over three very different declarative memory tasks, taking a nap improved performance compared with staying awake.  However, napping only worked for people who had really learned the task well in the first place.

WASHINGTON - Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. disclosed The Special Needs Planning Guide: How to Prepare for Every Stage of Your Childs Life is written by authors who have family members with special needs (John W. Nadworny & Cynthia R. Haddadis).  Included is a CD-Rom wuth a Financial Planning Timeline and a printable Letter of Intent that lets parents communicate key information, concerns, and desires to future caretakers.  The book is available through Brookes Publishing: info.thearc.org.

ROSLYN, NY - Newsday.com disclosed the human heart has an inevitable, inexplicable shrinkage at the half-century mark, a phenomenon that its discoverer calls the "age 50 effect," a mysterious development that affects both genders.  "This is the first time this kind of narrow time window has emerged for such a dramatic change," said Dr. Nathaniel Reichek, research and education director at St. Francis Hospital Heart Center.  Other investigators, including those with the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts and Mesa Study at Johns Hopkins University, have uncovered similar evidence, Dr. Reichek and his team defined it, and timed chronologically when it occurs.  "It has been recognized for some time that the heart chambers get smaller with age, but what pops out in this work is an inflection point," he said of the 50-year mark, "where rapidly-occurring change occurs."  The 218 people in the study, all from Long Island and New York City, were defined as "genuinely normal" - they were free of illnesses, especially chronic cardiac problems.  The study of the heart involved magnetic resonance imaging exams.  Participants ranged from their 20s to late 80s.

WASHINGTON - Children are a diminishing priority in the federal budget, a study from the Urban Institute and the New America Foundation shows.  If current spending/revenue policies go on, their share of domestic federal spending - excluding defense, non-defense homeland security, and international affairs - will be 13.8% in 2018, versus 16.2% in 2007, 20.2% in 1960.  While domestic spending is projected to rise $771 billion - mostly due to booming healthcare costs - from now to 2018, children will reap only 7.1%, or $55 billion, of this rise under current law.  The annual Kids’ Share report figures the children’s slice of Gross Domestic Product will dip from 2.6% in fiscal 2007 to 2.2% in fiscal 2018, while Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will rise from 7.9 to 9.6%.  Kids’ Share 2008: How Children Fare in the Federal Budget  classifies more than 100 federal programs that spend for children in eight areas: income security, nutrition, housing, tax credits/exemptions, health, social services, education, and training.  The report defines children as under 19 who aren’t in postsecondary education.