Although increasing numbers of people are receiving an autism diagnosis, the proportion of the population with autism symptoms has remained steady. This finding, from a study of more than 1 million Swedish children, backs the theory that autism’s rise stems from greater awareness of the disorder.
Many children with autism have gastrointestinal problems, seizures and sleep disorders. A new study suggests that these seemingly disparate conditions are interconnected and may lead to the children’s behavioral issues.
Children who carry an extra copy of part of chromosome 7 have symptoms ranging from social phobia to speech impediments. About one-third of them show signs of autism, according to the first systematic analysis of people with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome.
The genetic makeup of an individual plays much a bigger role than environmental factors in whether he or she develops autism, according to one of the largest twin studies to date.
Native speakers of tonal languages who have autism are adept at identifying pitch in music, but this does not help them interpret tone in language.
By analyzing stem cells derived from baby teeth, researchers have tracked a child’s autism to mutations in a gene called TRPC6. The molecular saga highlights a painless way to probe the role some genes play in autism.
An overabundance of neuronal connections in the brains of people with autism may contribute to the motor impairments associated with the disorder.
Pivotal response treatment, an effective form of behavioral therapy for autism, normalizes brain activity in children with the disorder, according to a small study published earlier this month in Brain Imaging and Behavior. This suggests that brain imaging can signal early responses to autism treatments.
A new policy that aims to eliminate gender bias in animal and cell-based biomedical research is outlined in the 15 May Nature.
