[Pharmwaste] FW: News Release: Breaking the Silence: $7.5 Million to UC Davis to Research Autism

[Volkman, Jennifer]

FYI
 
-----Original Message-----
From: U.S. EPA [mailto:usaepa at govdelivery.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 12:02 PM
To: Snyder, Mark
Subject: News Release: Breaking the Silence: $7.5 Million to UC Davis to
Research Autism



News for Release: Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007 
  
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

Breaking the Silence: 
$7.5 Million to UC Davis to Research Autism 

Contact: Suzanne Ackerman, (202) 564-4355 / ackerman.suzanne at epa.gov 

(Washington, D.C. - Aug. 8, 2007) In order to continue federal progress
on research on autism, EPA and the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS) today announced renewed funding for The
University of California/Davis's Center for Children's Environmental
Health (CCEH). This center will investigate how genes and exposure to
environmental chemicals during fetal development may play a role in the
development of autism. The UC Davis Center will support three projects
in partnership with the internationally recognized M.I.N.D. Institute of
Sacramento, Calif.  

In the past, health problems were attributed to a single cause and
effect: a virus, genetics, or trauma. But many illnesses do not fit this
model. There are a number of emerging theories that many diseases are
influenced by multiple environment and genes (heredity), the
environment, and gene-environment interactions. 

There are several childhood ailments that are rising with no obvious
explanation: asthma, allergies and autism. Estimates show that there
could be up to 1.5 million autistic people in the United States today.
The causes of autism are largely unknown, although a high familial
recurrence rate supports a strong genetic component. Autism is a
disorder defined by lack of social and communication skills, limited
capacity for language, and repetitive patterns of behavior. 

"It is part of EPA's mission to protect even the most vulnerable members
of our society. Autism is a serious developmental problem affecting over
1 million children," said George Gray, EPA assistant administrator for
the Office of Research and Development. "Therefore, EPA is pleased to
fund the UC Davis Center that brings together high caliber scientists
from many disciplines to address key needs in research, assessment,
treatment and outreach." 

The ultimate goal of the center is to determine the mechanisms by which
chemicals known to be toxic to the developing nervous and immune systems
contribute to abnormal development of social behavior in children,
leading to strategies for prevention and intervention. Researchers will
also identify which combination of environmental exposures most likely
contribute to the problem. 

More about the EPA/NIEHS Children's Centers Research on Autism:
http://es.epa.gov/ncer/childrenscenters/autism.html
<http://es.epa.gov/ncer/childrenscenters/autism.html>  

More about the Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease
Prevention Research: http://es.epa.gov/ncer/childrenscenters/
<http://es.epa.gov/ncer/childrenscenters/>  



R222 



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