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CHICAGO (Reuters) - All U.S. children should be formally screened for autism twice by the age of 2, the nation's top pediatrician group recommended on Monday.

"If you recognize it earlier, you get them into treatment earlier," said Dr. Scott Myers, a pediatrician who specializes in neurodevelopment and who helped write two clinical reports designed to help pediatricians identify and manage autism.

"Kids who start (treatment) earlier do better in the long run," Myers said in a telephone interview.

The guidelines for the first time call for universal screening of babies at the regular 18- and 24-month check-ups, regardless of whether there are warning signs. They will be published in the journal Pediatrics and on the group's Web site at http://www.aap.org.

No one knows what causes autism, a complex developmental disorder that includes problems with social interaction and communication.

Symptoms range from mild awkwardness to severe disability and mental retardation. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about one in every 150 U.S. children has autism or an autism spectrum disorder, such as Asperger's syndrome.

Delays in communication often are an early warning sign.

The guidelines urge pediatricians to watch for subtle signs, such as a lack of babbling, late smiling and failure to make eye contact. Picking up on these cues could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment.

"Young children and infants between 9 and 12 months should turn and respond when their name is called," said Myers, of Janet Weis Children's Hospital/Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania.

"If you say look at something across the room and you point, they ought to follow that with their eyes," he said.

Warnings signs needing immediate evaluation include: no babbling or pointing or other gestures by 12 months, no single words by 16 months, no two-word phrases by 24 months and regression or loss of language or social skills at any age.

If autism is suspected, the guidelines urge parents not to wait for a specialist to confirm the diagnosis before seeking treatment for the specific symptoms.

"You can begin with therapy geared toward the impairments that are there," Myers said. cue mai cuff fine cufflink wall cut sho dart mall deck ego dess do diamaond buy gidi shopping record well

The reports also review educational therapies and advises that children be engaged in intensive intervention of at least 25 hours per week, 12 months a year, with a low student-to-teacher ratio. Parents should be included in this treatment.

Pediatricians treating patients with autism should make themselves aware of various alternative therapies and to help parents make treatment decisions based on scientific evidence.

But the report suggests doctors should maintain open communication, even when families are pursuing unproven alternative treatments.

While the guidelines stress early intervention, Myers said many children benefit from therapy even if their autism was not detected until later.

"In the milder forms, it may not be possible to diagnose early," Myers said. "It is not hopeless by any means if it is diagnosed later but there does seem to be an advantage to getting intervention going as early as we can."

FRIDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Three months of daily, vigorous exercise can improve overweight kids' thinking, U.S. researchers report.

All the children learned about healthy nutrition and the benefits of physical activity. In addition, a third of the children exercised 20 minutes a day, and another third exercised for 40 minutes. During the exercise sessions, the children played running games and used hula hoops and jump ropes to get their heart rates to 79 percent of maximum -- considered a vigorous workout.

"Aerobic exercise training showed dose-response benefits on executive function (decision-making) and possibly math achievement, in overweight children," the researchers wrote in an abstract presented this week at The Obesity Society's annual scientific meeting in New Orleans. "Regular exercise may be a simple, important method of enhancing children's cognitive and academic development. These results may persuade educators to implement vigorous physical activity curricula during a childhood obesity epidemic," the researchers concluded.

"Is exercise a magic wand that turns them into lean, healthy kids? No. They are still overweight but less so, with less fat, a healthier metabolism and an improved ability to handle life," lead investigator Dr. Catherine Davis, a clinical health psychologist at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta, said in a prepared statement.trade bass mal bath plaza batman happy bats automobilia auto commodity glass

"We hope these findings will help persuade policymakers, schools and communities that time spent being physically active enhances, rather than detracts from learning," Davis said.

CHICAGO (AFP) - The appetite-curbing hormone leptin influences brain circuits that tell us when we are hungry and when we are full, according to a study released Monday that could help in the fight against obesity.

"Ultimately, that may help identify new targets for the treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders," said Edythe London, a professor of psychiatry at UCLA's Semel Institute.

The team studied the brain activity in three morbidly obese people as they were presented with visual food cues using brain scanning technology known as functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI.

The three volunteers were all members of a Turkish family who were overweight because of an extremely rare genetic mutation which resulted in them being deficient in leptin -- a signaling molecule produced by fat cells.

To see how leptin affected their relationship with food, the trio were shown images of food when they were supplemented with the hormone and again when they were not.

The cues included images of high-calorie food such as fried chicken, pizza and cheeseburgers, low-calorie food such as strawberries and salad, and neutral images such as brick walls.

Leptin treatment reduced feelings of hunger stimulated by the images. Artificial supplementation of leptin was also associated with reduced activity in brain regions associated with hunger, and increased activity in regions previously linked with feeling full or satisfied.backpacks backpack bags bag balls ball bangle bangle purchasing barrel  shopping baske

In clinical trials, leptin supplements have produced moderate weight loss in some obese patients, supposedly by inhibiting hunger and promote feelings of being full. But other research suggests it does not help people with normal leptin levels shed the extra pounds.

The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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