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Autism is an environmental illness -- at least in some cases. Just as lead paint chips can cause learning disabilities and radon in the basement can cause lung cancer, certain chemicals and other outside influences seem to help set autism in motion. But autism is also a genetic disease. It definitely runs in families, and scientists have identified several specific genes that put kids at risk.

For the melanoma patients who signed on to try a drug known as PLX4032, the clinical trial was a last resort. Their bodies were riddled with tumors, leaving them almost certainly just months to live.

But a few weeks after taking their first dose, nearly all of them began to recover.

People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression can lose weight and keep it off through a modified lifestyle intervention program, a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study reported online today in The New England Journal of Medicine. Over 80 percent of people with serious mental illnesses are overweight or obese, which contributes to them dying at three times the rate of the overall population. They succumb mostly to the same things the rest of the population experiences — cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Although antipsychotic medications increase appetite and cause weight gain in these patients, it is not the only culprit. Like the general population, sedentary lifestyle and poor diet also play a part. Lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise should work for these patients, yet they are often left out of weight loss studies.

Introduction by Steve Silberman: Six years ago, the United Nations declared April 2 to be World Autism Awareness Day. For most of the 20th Century, autism was rarely talked about in public, because the psychiatric establishment — led by a psychologist and popular author named Bruno Bettelheim, considered the preeminent authority on the subject in the 1960s — blamed the condition on the emotional trauma of being raised by a cold, unloving mother. The “refrigerator mother” theory was utterly discredited long ago as an elaborate fraud, and autism is now understood to be a life-long disability caused by complex interactions between genes and the environment. Autistic people and their families are still subject to stigma, however, in part because many of the organizations that view Autism Awareness Day as a fundraising opportunity use fear-mongering language like Autism Speaks’ oft-repeated refrain that “more children are diagnosed with autism each year than with juvenile diabetes, AIDS or cancer, combined.”

This is a listing of camps for children and adults with specific diagnoses, and for children who have a parent or a family member with a specific diagnosis. These are not necessarily free camps, or camps for financially needy children and families. But, some of these camps offer financial aid, so contact the individual camp for details. If you're looking for programs that provide general financial aid for camping or other activities, then go to the Diagnosis-Based Assistance area of NeedyMeds and search by the specific diagnosis. The programs listed in this database include camps for children with one specific diagnosis, whole categories of diagnoses (such as all types of cancers) or broader chronic illnesses. Many of these camps are funded by either private or government organizations. Some camps take children from anywhere in the U.S., while others are limited to people in specific states. Most have some type of eligibility requirements, usually financial ones.

Social Security launched the Compassionate Allowances program in 2008 with a list of 50 diseases and conditions.  The announcement of 52 new conditions, effective in August, will increase the total number of Compassionate Allowances conditions to 165.  The conditions include certain cancers, adult brain disorders, a number of rare genetic disorders of children, early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, immune system conditions, and other disorders.  In his speech that opened the Congress, Commissioner Astrue thanked the National Institutes of Health for research they conducted which helped identify many of the conditions added to the list.

Davis, a 30-year quadriplegic, Missoula resident and a powerful voice for people with disabilities, died in her home on June 28 from cancer at the age of 58. She was a calming, caring voice for those struggling with their disability and a strong, confident voice when it came to testifying before the Legislature for funds to pay for home-care services.

Alcoholism. Respiratory disease. Cancer. Obesity.  We're told that these can be the results of genetics, stress and poor nutrition. But in recent years, an extraordinary, retrospective study reveals that childhood abuse may lie at the core of some diseases that show up in middle-aged adults. IDEAS producer Mary O'Connell talks to Dr. Vincent Felitti about the physiological results of psychological trauma.

The National Institutes of Health is awarding nearly $100 million in grants — the most ever — to research the causes of autism and look for treatments. The funding is part of $5 billion that’s being awarded by the NIH to study autism, cancer and heart disease, among other conditions. The grants represent half of the NIH funding allotment from the federal economic stimulus package enacted earlier this year. Collectively, the grants are “the single largest boost to biomedical research in history,” President Barack Obama said at the NIH Wednesday.

Suppose the typical U.S. health insurance plan didn’t cover treatment for cancer. Or suppose most American insurance companies put annual and lifetime benefit limits on cardiac care, limits that didn’t apply to other ailments. Imagine that the health plans still covering heart care applied higher deductibles to that treatment than to other health care bills. These ideas are outrageous, yet they are reality for American families living with mental illnesses.

the agency is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances.  This is the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions - 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers - was announced in October 2008.  The new conditions range from adult brain disorders to rare diseases that primarily affect children. 

When people are suffering from cancer, diabetes, heart disease or broken bones, their first line of help is usually a doctor’s office or hospital emergency department. However, for people suffering from mental illnesses, the first line of help often is police officers, sheriff’s deputies or even the county jail.

Click here to register Welcome to Doodle 4 Google, a competition where we invite K-12 students to use their artistic talents to think big and redesign Google’s homepage logo for millions to see. At Google, we believe that dreaming about future possibilities leads to tomorrow’s leaders and inventors, so this year we're inviting U.S. kids to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme, "What I’d like to do someday…" Whether students want to find a cure for cancer or take a trip to the moon, it all starts with art supplies and some 8.5" x 11" paper. And, one lucky student artist will take home a $15,000 college scholarship and $25,000 technology grant for their school, among many other prizes. Registration closes at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) on March 2, 2011, and entries must be postmarked by March 16, 2011 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). The winning doodle will be featured on our Google.com homepage on May 20, 2011.

Our society is confronting many serious, chronic medical issues, including AIDS, diabetes, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer's, MS, heart disease, and autism. What do all those conditions have in common? Every one is something you live with for a long period of time; in some cases all your life. Furthermore, every one has one or more strong advocacy organizations who speak for people affected by the condition.

Washington, DC — Last Wednesday, President Obama visited the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to announce the single biggest investment in biomedical research in American history. Among the $5 billion in grants he announced are new explorations of longtime research targets from cancer to heart disease. But the grants also include the largest-ever investment in an Obama administration priority that has so far gone mostly unnoticed: autism research.