Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
Health & Fitness

Did You Know? Broccoli may curb autism

Darpan News Desk IANS, 14 Oct, 2014 10:44 AM
  • Did You Know? Broccoli may curb autism
A study led by an Indian-origin researcher has found evidence that daily treatment with sulphoraphane - a molecule found in foods such as broccoli - may improve some symptoms of autism spectrum disorders.
 
Participants receiving a daily dose of sulforaphane showed improvement in both behavioural and communication assessments in as little as four weeks.
 
Two thirds of the participants were less irritable, lethargic, better motivated, able to communicate and had less repetitive movements.
 
"The average scores for each of the assessments were significantly better for the 26 participants receiving sulforaphane than for the 14 who received a placebo," said lead author, Kanwaljit Singh from the MassGeneral Hospital.
 
The study enrolled young men, aged 13 to 27, who had been diagnosed with moderate to severe autism spectrum disorder.
 
Participants were randomly assigned to a daily dose of either sulforaphane - extracted from broccoli sprouts - or a placebo, with neither investigators, participants nor their care givers knowing who was receiving the study drug.
 
Overall, 17 of the 26 participants, who received sulforaphane were judged by their care givers to have improvements in behaviour, social interaction and calmness while on active treatment.
 
After 18 weeks of treatment, the average scores on two assessments - the Aberrant Behaviour Checklist and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) - of those who received sulforaphane had decreased 34 and 17 percent respectively.
 
"The improvements seen on the SRS were particularly remarkable" said co-corresponding author Andrew Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Massachusetts in the US.
 
"I have been told this is the first time that any statistically significant improvement on the SRS has been seen for a drug study in autism spectrum disorder," Zimmerman noted.
 
The findings appeared online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

MORE Health & Fitness ARTICLES

Physically active boys perform better in school

Physically active boys perform better in school
If you find it dificult to keep pace with the high levels of energy of your male kid, chances are that he will be good at studies, says a study....

Physically active boys perform better in school

Air pollution harming brains of urban young

Air pollution harming brains of urban young
Children living in cities are at an increased risk of developing brain inflammation and neuro-degenerative changes, including Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, owing to air pollution....

Air pollution harming brains of urban young

Smokers on high-salt diet at rheumatoid arthritis risk

Smokers on high-salt diet at rheumatoid arthritis risk
If you are a smoker and love to eat a high-salt diet, you may be at a greater risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), researchers say....

Smokers on high-salt diet at rheumatoid arthritis risk

'Electronic skin' to better detect breast cancer

Detecting breast cancer at an early stage is crucial to saving many lives and it can now become a lot easier as researchers have developed an "electronic...

'Electronic skin' to better detect breast cancer

Cyber-bullying in kids increases with age

Cyber-bullying in kids increases with age
Bullying increases as students graduate from elementary to middle school and, overall, girls are more likely to experience verbal/relational and...

Cyber-bullying in kids increases with age

How to kill back pain during sex

How to kill back pain during sex
Is back pain affecting your sex life? Now, get to know why certain positions are better than others when it comes to avoiding back pain between the sheets....

How to kill back pain during sex