Young people abuse cough medicine

About 3.1 million people between the ages of 12-25 have used cough and cold medicine to get high, the United States government reported Wednesday. The number of young people who abuse over-the-counter cold medicines is comparable to use of LSD and much greater than that for methamphetamine among the age group, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The agency's 2006 survey on drug abuse and health found that more than five per cent of teenagers and young adults had misused cough and cold medicines and indicated that these people also had experimented frequently with illicit drugs. Nearly 82 per cent also had used marijuana. Slightly less than half also used inhalants or hallucinogens, such as LSD or Ecstasy, the agency said. The cough suppressant DXM is found in more than 140 cough and cold medications available without a prescription. When taken in large amounts, DXM can cause disorientation, blurred vision, slurred speech and vomiting.

Source: The Associated Press.

Genetic glitch linked to autism

A rare genetic variation dramatically raises the risk of developing autism, a large study showed, opening new research targets for better understanding the disorder and for treating it. Research into the causes of autism has focused on genetic causes because so many families have multiple children with the disorder. Thus far, only about 10 per cent of autism cases have a known genetic cause.

Boston-area researchers estimate the gene glitch they have identified accounts for another one per cent of cases.They found a segment of a chromosome which has genes linked to brain development and various developmental disorders was either missing or duplicated far more often in autistic people. The defect was inherited in some cases, but more often the result of a random genetic accident.

The results from the Autism Consortium study, released online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine, confirm those of smaller studies by United States (U.S.) and Canadian research groups in the past year. The consortium verified its findings by checking two other DNA databases in the U.S. and Iceland.''They really did nail it,'' said Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, director of the Kennedy Krieger Institute's Center for Autism and Related Disorders in Baltimore, who was not involved in the research. He predicted children newly diagnosed with autism or other developmental disorders now will be tested for this defect on chromosome 16 and that studies of many more DNA samples may reveal other autism-related gene variations.

Source: The Associated Press