Minerva

Environmental factors associated with migration may contribute to the development of low functioning autism (British Journal of Psychiatry 2012;201:109-15, doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.111.095125). A Swedish study looked at children with autistic spectrum disorder (2855 with high functioning autism and 2097 with low functioning autism). Children of migrant parents were at increased risk of low functioning autism, and the risk peaked when migration took place around the time of pregnancy. Children of migrants have a reduced risk of high functioning autism regardless of when migration occurs.

Poor consent practices are killing off hospital autopsies (Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 2012;105:288-95, doi:10.1258/jrsm.2012.110288). An analysis of the policies on consent for the procedure in 21 NHS trusts found that only half of them followed the Human Tissue Authority’s model of best practice, which deals with the needs of clinicians as well as the bereaved. A quarter had no documented procedures at all.

Video sharing websites are increasingly …