WHAT IS AUTISM? · There is no single cause of autism and it is suggested that there are many...
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A hidden disability that begins in childhood and can persist into adolescence and adulthood 1,2 . Symptoms range from mild to severe and can result in some people having severe disabilities and require life-long care and support 1,3 . Studies have shown that 1 in 160 children have autism 1 , so how can it be treated? WHAT IS AUTISM? Autism spectrum disorder (autism) is a complex developmental disorder that affects the brain’s normal development 4 . People with autism often have difficulty understanding others – with the most common behaviours being: trouble interacting and communicating with others, narrow interests and repetitive behaviour 4,5 . Causes & Signs There is no single cause of autism and it is suggested that there are many factors that increase a child’s likelihood of developing autism, including environmental and genetic contributors 1,4 . Some children might develop autism due to an early brain overgrowth, which means that the brain grows faster than the average brain, resulting in different parts of the brain not communicating in a typical way 4 . Signs of autism are usually prevalent from the age of two, when parents begin to see signs such as being unable to get the child’s attention or communicating simple tasks. Some early signs are 6 : • Social challenges – many autistic infants show some early symptoms such as failure to respond to their name, reduced interest in people and delayed speech. Autistic children have difficulties interpreting what others are thinking and feeling, which results in difficulties playing social games. 1 WHO 2017, Autism spectrum disorders. Available from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/autism-spectrum-disorders/en/. [4 September 2017]. 2 The National Autistic Society 2017, Autism facts and history. Available from: http://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/myths-facts- stats.aspx. [4 September 2017]. 3 AIHW 2017, Autism in Australia. Available from: http://www.aihw.gov.au/disability/autism-in-australia/. [4 September 2017]. 4 Raising Children 2016, Autism spectrum disorder (ASD): overview. Available from: http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_overview.html. [31 August 2017]. 5 Raising Children 2017, Early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder: getting started. Available from: http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_choosing_services.html. [31 August 2017]. 6 Autism Speaks 2017, Symptoms. Available from: https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/symptoms. [18 September 2017].
Transcript of WHAT IS AUTISM? · There is no single cause of autism and it is suggested that there are many...
Ahiddendisabilitythatbeginsinchildhoodandcanpersistintoadolescenceandadulthood1,2.Symptomsrangefrommildtosevereandcanresultinsomepeoplehavingseveredisabilitiesandrequirelife-longcareandsupport1,3.Studieshaveshownthat1in160childrenhaveautism1,sohowcanitbetreated?WHATISAUTISM?
Autism spectrum disorder (autism) is a complexdevelopmentaldisorderthataffectsthebrain’snormaldevelopment4.Peoplewithautismoftenhavedifficultyunderstanding others – with the most commonbehaviours being: trouble interacting andcommunicating with others, narrow interests andrepetitivebehaviour4,5.
Causes&SignsThereisnosinglecauseofautismanditissuggestedthattherearemanyfactorsthatincreaseachild’slikelihoodofdevelopingautism,includingenvironmentalandgeneticcontributors1,4.Somechildrenmightdevelopautismduetoanearlybrainovergrowth,whichmeansthatthebrain grows faster than the average brain, resulting in different parts of the brain notcommunicatinginatypicalway4.Signsofautismareusuallyprevalentfromtheageoftwo,when parents begin to see signs such as being unable to get the child’s attention orcommunicatingsimpletasks.Someearlysignsare6:
• Socialchallenges–manyautisticinfantsshowsomeearlysymptomssuchasfailureto respond to theirname, reduced interest inpeopleanddelayed speech.Autisticchildren have difficulties interpreting what others are thinking and feeling, whichresultsindifficultiesplayingsocialgames.
1WHO2017,Autismspectrumdisorders.Availablefrom:http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/autism-spectrum-disorders/en/.[4September2017].2TheNationalAutisticSociety2017,Autismfactsandhistory.Availablefrom:http://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/myths-facts-stats.aspx.[4September2017].3AIHW2017,AutisminAustralia.Availablefrom:http://www.aihw.gov.au/disability/autism-in-australia/.[4September2017].4RaisingChildren2016,Autismspectrumdisorder(ASD):overview.Availablefrom:http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_overview.html.[31August2017].5RaisingChildren2017,Earlyinterventionforchildrenwithautismspectrumdisorder:gettingstarted.Availablefrom:http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_choosing_services.html.[31August2017].6AutismSpeaks2017,Symptoms.Availablefrom:https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/symptoms.[18September2017].
• Communication difficulties – some autistic children will have significant language
delaysanddon’tbeginspeakinguntilmuchlater,usingonlysinglewordsorrepeatingphrases. This is due their difficulty combining words into meaningful sentences.Childrenwithautismalsohaveaninabilitytounderstandbodylanguage,toneofvoiceandexpression.
• Repetitivebehaviour–commonrepetitivebehavioursincludehand-flapping,rocking,
jumpingandtwirling,arrangingandrearrangingobjects,andrepeatingsounds,wordsor phrases. People with autism need and demand extreme consistency in theirenvironmentanddailyroutine–slightchangescanbeextremelystressfulandleadtooutbursts.
WHO’SAFFECTED?Studies over the past 50 years have shown that theprevalenceofautismappearstobeincreasingglobally1.It is estimated that more than 21.7 million peopleworldwidearedirectlyaffectedbyautism4.InAustraliaalone,5%(115,400people)havebeendiagnosedwithautism,with1 in100autistic childrenbeingbetweentheagesof5-145.Itiscommonlyidentifiedinchildrenandyoungpeople,with83%ofautismsufferersagedunder 253. Statistics indicate boys being four timesmorelikelytoexperienceautismthangirls5.TREATMENTThereisnosinglecureforautism,howeverithasbeenproventhattherightsupportattherighttimecanmakeadifferencetothelivesofautisticpeople1,2.
Children with autism can benefit from earlyintervention,whichconsistsofvarioustherapies,interventionsorservices4.Thiscanhaveapositiveimpact on wellbeing and quality of life for apersonwithautismandtheircaregivers1.Medications are also used to treat the coresymptomsofautismandcanhelpsomeautisticpeoplefunctionbetter7.Forexample,medication
7WebMD2017,MedicinesforAutism.Availablefrom:http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/medications-for-autism.[18September2017].
mighthelpmanagehighenergylevels,inabilitytofocus,depression,orseizures.Medicinesthat are sometimes used to treat behaviors related to autism include selective serotoninreuptakeinhibitors(SSRIs),whichhavebeenfoundtoimprovemood,alleviatedepressionandobsessivecompulsivebehavioursthattypicallypresentthemselveswithautism7.Thesedrugspresent some side effects including weight gain, insomnia and agitation7. Antipsychoticmedicinesarealsousedtoalleviatebehaviouralproblems,thesedrugsalterthechemicalsinthebrain,andhavesideeffectsofweightgain,sleepiness,tremors/shakes7.However,thereisnosinglemedicationthatcuresthecoresymptomsofautism,whichmeansthatautisticchildrenarebeingtreatedforconditionsoftenassociatedwithautisminsteadsuchasanxiety,hyperactivityandaggressionError!Bookmarknotdefined..AstudyreleasedbytheNationalInstituteofMentalHealthshowedthat56%ofchildrenandteenswithautismare taking one ormoremedications, withmany suffering from the side effects of theseprescriptionmedicatonsError!Bookmarknotdefined.It’s due to these side effects and relianceonmultiplemedications, that’s resulting in thesearch for alternative treatments such as medical cannabis. Zelda Therapeutics is onecompanythatislookingtodevelopmedicalcannabisformulationstargetedatautism.ZELDATHERAPEUTICS(ASX:ZLD)ZeldaTherapeutics(Zelda)isanAustralianbasedbio-pharmaceutical company that has secured certainrightastoanextensivesetofhumandatarelatedtomedicalcannabisbasedformulationsandtreatmentprotocols.ThishumandatahasbeengeneratedoverseveralyearsbyaCalifornia-basedgroup,AuntZelda,that has a very high profile within the USA and agrowing international profile based upon its deepknowledge of the scientific rationale for certaincannabis-basedformulationsandprotocolstotreatavarietyofmedicalconditions.Zelda’sinvolvementwithAutismThecompanybeganitsclinicaltrialprogrammeinChile lastyearandasofApril2017,theprogrammeexpandedtoincludeautism.ZeldaisworkingtogetherwithChileannon-profitpatientadvocategroup,FoundationDaya,toleveragetheirclinicalexperiencewithautismpatientswhichhasalreadydemonstratedsolidanecdotalevidenceofpositivequalityoflifeoutcomesusingcannabinoids-basedtherapy.
FoundationDayahasextensiveexperienceoveranumberof years in using medical cannabis to treat patientsdiagnosedwithautism.Zeldawillusethisdataandaccesstopatientstodeveloprobustclinicaltrialsandconductitsresearchunderrigorousandcontrolledclinicalconditions,usingmedicinal cannabis formulations already known tohaveapositiveeffectonsufferersofautism.Furthermore,throughitsrelationshipwithAusCann,ZeldawillleverageAusCann’sChilean joint-ventureDayaCanntosupplyhigh
qualitymedicalcannabisfortheautismtrial.
Subjecttoregulatoryapprovalsbeingobtained,Zeldaexpectsthetrialwillcommenceinthesecondhalfof2017,withtrialprotocolsbeingdeveloped.Thecompanyexpectsthetrialtobeconductedoveraperiodof6-9months.
Recently,ZeldaannouncedthatithassponsoredanobservationautismtrialinChile,whichhasdemonstratedsuccessfulresultsfortreatingthecoresymptomsofautismwithmedicalcannabisextractsthatZeldaisplanningontakingintoclinicaltrials.Agroupof21patents(medianageof9years10months),whohadnotrespondedwilltoconventionalmedicines,weretreatedforatleasta12-weekperiodwithmedicinalcannabisandwereexaminedbyEEG, neuropsychological analysis as well as metabolism and genetic tests. Resultsdemonstrated cannabis extractsweremore effective than conventional autismmedicineswith71.4%of cannabis treatedpatients improving in at least one core symptomare and66.7%ofpatientstreatedshowingsignificantoverallimprovement.
WHAT’SNEXT?
Theexcitingresultsfromtheobservationalstudy,willassistinbuildingZelda’sclinicalautismtrial,fromwhichsuccessfulresultswillallowZeldatoimmediatelycommencetheproductregistrationprocesstosellclinicallyapprovedproductsintheChileanmarket.ThisprovidesaclearpathwaytopotentialrevenuegenerationfromChileandotherSouthAmericanmarketsasearlyas2018.TofollowZelda’sprogressorlearnmore–visitthewebsite:www.zeldatherapeutics.comFollowusonSocialMedia:Facebook:@ZeldaTherapeutics|Twitter:@ZLDTherapeutics|Linkedin:ZeldaTherapeutics
