Today, 3:00 AM
A research team led by Seattle Children's Research Institute has discovered new gene mutations associated with markedly enlarged brain size, or megalencephaly. Mutations in three genes, AKT3, PIK3R2 and PIK3CA, were also found to be associated with a constellation of disorders including cancer, hydrocephalus, epilepsy, autism, vascular anomalies and skin growth disorders... Read more…
In a process akin to belling an infinitesimal cat, scientists have managed to tag a protein that regulates the neurotransmitter serotonin with tiny fluorescent beads, allowing them to track the movements of single molecules for the first time... Read more…
A new study shows significant differences in brain development in high-risk infants who develop autism starting as early as age 6 months. The findings published in the American Journal of Psychiatry reveal that this abnormal brain development may be detected before the appearance of autism symptoms in an infant's first year of life. Autism is typically diagnosed around the age of 2 or 3... Read more…
Wednesday, 4:00 AM
Widely available EEG testing can distinguish children with autism from neurotypical children as early as age 2, finds a study from Boston Children's Hospital. The study is the largest, most rigorous study to date to investigate EEGs as a potential diagnostic tool for autism, and offers hope for an earlier, more definitive test. Researchers Frank H... Read more…
BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine carries an article this week with new research showing the possibility of identifying children with autism using an EEG test. EEG, or Electroencephalography, records electrical activity in the brain, using an array of electrodes attached to the scalp... Read more…
The number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has recently increased to one in 100. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine demonstrates that EEG can distinguish between children with autism and neurotypical controls... Read more…
Jun 25, 4:00 AM
The hormone oxytocin - often referred to as the "trust" hormone or "love hormone" for its role in stimulating emotional responses - plays an important role in Williams syndrome (WS), according to a study published in PLoS One... Read more…
A pioneering report of genome-wide gene expression in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) finds genetic changes that help explain why one person has an ASD and another does not. The study, published by Cell Press in The American Journal of Human Genetics, pinpoints ASD risk factors by comparing changes in gene expression with DNA mutation data in the same individuals... Read more…
UCLA researchers have combined two tools - gene expression and the use of peripheral blood - to expand scientists' arsenal of methods for pinpointing genes that play a role in autism. Published in the online edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics, the findings could help scientists zero in on genes that offer future therapeutic targets for the disorder... Read more…