Unusual patterns of eye contact could help detect developing autism symptoms in babies just six months old, reveals a study.

La Trobe University psychologist Kristelle Hudry, a key researcher in the study, says the results of the study are linked with emerging autism.

Hudry and her UK colleagues studied six to 10-month-old babies who were at risk of developing autism because they had a sibling with the condition.
They placed sensors on the babies' scalps to register their brain activity, while they viewed videos of faces that switched from looking at them to looking away, or vice versa, said a university statement.

"These results are important because early diagnosis can secure the best possible outcome for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), through early access to intervention," Hudry said.

While behaviours characteristic of autism emerge over the first few years of life, a firm diagnosis using existing methods can usually only be made after the age of two.

In reality, however, diagnosis often doesn't happen until much later, so most autism research has concentrated on children older than two years, which means we still know very little about the very earliest symptoms and signs, said Hudry.

Releasing the report in the UK, Mark Johnson, professor and chief investigator, University of London, said: "Our findings demonstrate for the first time that direct measures of brain functioning during the first year of life associate with a later diagnosis of autism - well before the emergence of behavioural symptoms."

Melatonin is known as the body clock hormone which regulates the sleep-wake phases of a person. In this research by Imperial College London scientists, it came to light that there is a link between the body clock hormone melatonin and type 2 diabetes.

As part of the analysis, almost 7,632 individuals were examined for the presence of MT2 gene, which is the receptor for melatonin. The scientists stumbled upon 40 variants related to type 2 diabetes, out of which 4 of the rare ones seemed to render the receptor incapable for melatonin response. In another set of 11,854 individuals, this link was affirmed.

Professor Philippe Froguel, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, who led the trial, remarked, "Blood sugar control is one of the many processes regulated by the body's biological clock. This study adds to our understanding of how the gene that carries the blueprint for a key component in the clock can influence people's risk of diabetes."

Basically the results implied that individuals possessing any of the 4 rare variants of the MT2 gene could encounter a 6-fold rise in the risk for type 2 diabetes. Insulin is apparently regulated by melatonin, and therefore any abnormality in the MT2 gene may impede the association between the body clock receptor and insulin release. This process often leads to abnormal regulation of blood sugar.

The trial could help the team evaluate personal diabetes risk and may pave the path to personalized therapeutic options for the same. The revelations are consistent with researches which showed that people who work in night shifts or those with disoriented sleep continuously for 3 days are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes.

Scientists have figured out how cholera bugs invade our guts, infecting millions and killing more than 100,000 people worldwide every year, reveals a study.

The discovery potentially paves the way for more effective treatments against the bug, Vibrio cholerae, which is able to colonise the gut after consumption of contaminated water or food.

The bug secretes a toxin that causes watery diarrhoea and ultimately death if not treated rapidly, the Journal of Biological Chemistry reported.

Colonisation of the intestine is difficult for incoming bugs as they have to compete to gain a foothold among the trillions of other bacteria already on the site.

A team led by biologist Gavin Thomas from the University of York, England, investigated how Vibrio cholera gains this foothold with the help of sialic acid, a sugar, present on the gut cells surface, according to a university statement.

Their associates, led by Fidelma Boyd, professor at the University of Delaware, US, had shown previously that eating sialic acid was important for the bug's survival in animal models, but the mechanism by which it recognises and takes up the sialic was unknown.

The York research demonstrates that the pathogen uses a particular kind of transporter called a TRAP transporter to recognise sialic acid and take it up into the cell.

The transporter has particular properties that are suited to scavenging the small amount of sialic acid available. The research also provided some important basic information about how TRAP transporters work in general.

"This work continues our discoveries of how bacteria that grow in our body exploit sialic acid for their survival and help us to take forward our efforts to design chemicals to inhibit these processes in different bacterial pathogens," said Thomas.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that there are more than 346 million people worldwide suffering from diabetes. According to International Diabetes Federation (IDF), India tops the list with more than 50 million people with diabetes.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) states that there are about 10 lakh children with type I diabetes in India. Type II diabetes among children is also on the rise because of an increase in obesity among children. It is high time we understand the burden of this disease and spread awareness among everyone to combat this menace.

Prior to the discovery of insulin, children with diabetes did not live for longer than six months from the onset of symptoms. Thanks to Banting, and his team at the University of Toronto, this amazing discovery has changed the lives of millions of diabetic patients. Diabetic patients these days can lead a reasonably normal life provided they follow their diet plan and insulin regimen.

Diabetes is a condition that causes high sugar in our blood. This happens due to a lack of or resistance to insulin, a hormone required for the transport of glucose to different parts of our body. There are different types of diabetes. Children almost always develop Type I diabetes (juvenile diabetes). However, more recently, because of the obesity epidemic worldwide, Type II diabetes is also on the rise among children.

How do children develop diabetes?

As mentioned earlier, diabetes is characterised by increased levels of glucose in blood. Glucose is a source of energy. Normally, when glucose level in the blood increases (after eating), insulin is secreted for the absorption of glucose into the liver, muscles etc. Type I diabetes results when our body makes too little/ no insulin. Even though the exact cause for diabetes in children is not clear, an autoimmune mechanism (where parts of the pancreas (islets) which make insulin are destroyed by the body's own immune system) is proposed. Some environmental factors or simple viral illness can trigger this. Genetic factors also play a role. Children do not develop Type I diabetes by eating too much sweets.

What are the symptoms?

Passing more urine and more frequently, drinking water too much and more often, weight loss, weakness and lethargy, excessive hunger (sometimes loss of appetite), infections such as 'thrush' (candidiasis), bedwetting at night in a previously 'dry at night' child. Some of the symptoms (excessive drinking, passing more urine, bed wetting at night) may be difficult to notice in a very young child. These symptoms may be present for one week to six months prior to the presentation at the hospital.

Some patients (about 25%) with Type 1 diabetes may present Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) - a more serious form of symptom. In this case, the child will have vomiting, tummy pain and dehydration (dry mouth, lips, sunken eyes etc). Awareness of diabetes helps parents recognise the symptoms early and prevents their child going into DKA.

Diagnosis

Diabetes is diagnosed based on the symptoms mentioned above and is confirmed with a blood test. A urine test (to check for glucose and ketones) and a few other blood tests also may be required at the time of diagnosis.

Treatment of Type 1 diabetes

Type I diabetes cannot be cured, but can be kept under control. Insulin is the only treatment for this type of diabetes. Insulin, diet and exercise play an important part in the management of diabetes. Insulin is administered in the form of an injection.

Depending on the timing of the onset, various types of insulin are available. These are classified as short-acting, intermediate acting and long-acting insulin. In addition, there are rapidly-acting and slow-acting insulin analogues. Availability of various forms of insulin gives flexibility to how we treat diabetes. Insulin injections can be given using various devices. The simplest and most cost-effective way is to inject using a needle and a syringe. A more expensive device but easy to use is 'insulin pens'. Using these devices require guidance.

Diabetes and schools

A majority of Type I diabetics are school children and schools should be sensitive to their condition. Teachers and school nurses should be able to recognise diabetic emergencies and perform first-aid treatment. This is very important when a diabetic child is hypoglycaemic (having low blood sugars). Two spoons of sugar, glucose or a sugary drink should be given to the child while awaiting medical help. Parents should always inform the teacher or concerned authorities about the diagnosis. Medical care of a child with diabetes does not stop at school.

Obesity among children

Type II diabetes, which was rare among children in the past, is becoming very common these days due to a rapid rise in overweight and obese children. Obesity can lead to insulin resistance. This results in improper working of insulin in the body. Rapidly changing lifestyle with imbalanced dietary habits with excess consumption of calories, simple sugars, saturated fats and consumption of less fibre, and markedly reduced physical activity may be blamed for this condition.

Professionals should help to increase awareness in their community regarding this matter. Healthy eating and physical activity can prevent obesity and its disastrous consequences. Parents should set an example for their children in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Here's good news for chocoholics - munching on the sweet treat regularly may stave off your risk of developing bowel cancer, a new study has claimed. Researchers at the Science and Technology Institute of Food and Nutrition in Spain found that eating a diet high in cocoa could reduce risk of the cancer which kills more than 655,000 people worldwide every year.

Past studies have found the seed is rich in particularly powerful natural antioxidants that destroy harmful molecules known as free radicals. The new findings are the latest to highlight the health benefits of the cocoa bean, most of which is harvested in West Africa.

"Foods like cocoa, which is rich in polyphenols, seems to play an important role in protecting against disease," Maria Arribas, who led the latest study, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. For the study, Arribas and her team investigated if the food could stop rats from developing bowel cancer when exposed to tumour-causing chemicals. One group of rats were fed a daily diet consisting of 12% of cocoa for eight weeks, while another group were given a diet containing no cocoa. After a period of time, both groups were exposed to a carcinogen called azoxymethane, which is used to induce colon cancer.

Within four weeks of exposure rats began to develop intestinal cancers. However, the researchers discovered the rats on the cocoa diets had a reduced number of pre-cancerous lesions compared to the control group. It is believed that the study, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, is the first to suggest that cocoa could help prevent bowel cancer.

However, further research is now needed to explore how the raw material could benefit humans, the researchers said. It has already been suggested that eating chocolate with a high cocoa content could help to control diabetes, blood pressure and heart disease.

Sarah Williams, a spokesperson from Cancer Research UK, meanwhile, warned that too much chocolate can also have a negative impact. She said: "This study involved rats in the lab who were fed very large quantities of cocoa over a number of weeks, so it's impossible to conclude that that eating chocolate or drinking cocoa protects people against bowel cancer. "But we do know that chocolate is high in fat and calories, so eating too much of it could lead you to put on weight. "And being obese has been shown to increase the risk of bowel cancer, so eating lots of chocolate is unlikely to be a good way to cut the risk." She highlighted that eating a healthy diet with "lots of fruit, veg and fibre and limiting red and processed meat, cutting down on alcohol, staying physically active and not smoking" are other ways to reduce the risk of cancer.