Factorial scrutiny: Children who were born preterm have an elevated likelihood of being diagnosed with autism, and yet no genetic or environmental factors clearly account for that relationship, according to a new study. An analysis of 19 population studies found one significant predictive factor for autism in preterm-born children: male sex. Still, the threefold increase […]
Repressing each of the seven genes one at a time in retinal pigment epithelial cells significantly reduced the percentage of cells sporting cilia. For six of those genes, cilia were shorter than usual. The same thing happened in neural progenitor cells when the team suppressed TAOK1 and KMT2E, two high-confidence autism-linked genes that have not […]
Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism (TPGA): We’re talking with autistic disability advocate AJ Link. AJ graduated from the George Washington University Law School and also has an advanced degree in space law. In addition, he serves as the president of the National Disabled Legal Professionals Association, which he co-founded, and is a consultant and board […]
Cerebellar check: The cerebellum, an old and understudied brain region, may be less connected to autism than previously thought. Some genomic areas that help determine cerebellar size are associated with autism, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to a new study. But heritable genetic variants across the genome that also influence cerebellar size are not. The […]
About five years ago, when his younger twin brothers turned thirty, Giacomo Vivanti wondered how the two, both of whom suffer from autism, would fare in middle and old age. In particular, he wondered if they might be prone to developing age-related neurological disorders. His brothers showed no signs of illness or cognitive deterioration, but […]
Sharp Relief: After reviewing a variety of potentially confusing factors, two new studies show no association between autism and epidural anesthesia. RapidEye / iStock The epidural anesthesia commonly given to pregnant women during labor is not linked to autism in children, according to two studies published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. […]
Illustration by Laurène Boglio Welcome to this month’s edition of the By the Numbers newsletter. At Spectrum, we do our best to summarize the latest in autism research – and sometimes the best summary comes in the form of a chart or map. In this newsletter we put interesting new research results in a nutshell, […]
Small possibility: about 2 percent of premature babies will later be diagnosed with autism, according to a new analysis. Michael Blackburn / Getty Images According to the largest study to date to investigate the link, premature birth is linked to an increased risk of autism. And premature birth itself – and not unrecognized genetic or […]
Autism research has long focused on genes involved in the formation of neurons and the function of synapses. Mutations in these genes were the first to be firmly linked to the disease and its characteristics. Over the past decade, however, several studies have implicated a second class of genes: those involved in remodeling chromatin – […]
