Many genes related to the condition play a role in the internal scaffolding of cells, and cytoskeletal disruptions can affect neurodevelopment and behavior.

The results lend support for clinical trials of arbaclofen in people with an autism-linked condition, the researchers say.

But the alternatives, including living-brain biopsies, raise logistical and ethical questions, experts say.

A careful clinician who prizes evidence, Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele is happy to embrace trial failures, as long as he learns from them.

The drug clemastine and other compounds that fortify the protective sheath around neurons may prove therapeutic for some genetic neurodevelopmental conditions.

These scores — composite measures of a person’s autism-linked common genetic variants — cannot predict an autism diagnosis but could help researchers better understand the condition’s underlying biology.

Experiments offer clues to why certain mutations are associated with autism in some people and not others.

The findings add to the growing evidence that genes with disparate functions can play similar roles in brain development.

The largest analysis of human samples to date, plus work in mice and zebrafish, detail the gene KMT5B’s role in brain development.

Mice and zebrafish missing the GIGYF1 gene show social traits reminiscent of autism, though the molecular underpinnings are unclear.