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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Emily Singer

Opinion and Community Editor

Emily Singer commissions and edits scientist-written content and develops new resources for the community. She joined the Spectrum team in 2023 and has previously held a variety of editorial roles at the Simons Foundation, including editor for neuroscience collaborations, and senior biology writer and contributing editor at Quanta Magazine. Before joining the foundation, she was biomedical editor at Technology Review. She is a graduate of the Science Communication Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

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May 2013

Fast-fail pipeline

by  /  24 May 2013

A $9 million grant to the University of California, Los Angeles aims to drive clinical trials for autism that would quickly rule out ineffective compounds.

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Blood test for autism?

by  /  10 May 2013

In April, Massachusetts-based diagnostics company SynapDx launched a large-scale study of its blood test for autism, which analyzes expression of a panel of genes.

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Parents turn their skills to furthering autism research

by  /  9 May 2013

Most parents educate themselves as much as possible when their child is diagnosed with a disorder. A handful of others — in many cases, mothers — have devoted their professional lives to research on autism-related disorders.

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Gender differences take center stage at autism conference

by  /  4 May 2013

Girls with autism carry more mutations than do boys with the disorder, and show greater differences in brain activity and response to social cues, according to several preliminary studies presented at the 2013 International Meeting for Autism Research in San Sebastián, Spain.

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Statins improve symptoms of Rett syndrome in mice

by  /  4 May 2013

Defects in cholesterol metabolism may influence the severity of Rett syndrome, suggesting a treatment for the autism-related disorder, according to research presented Thursday at the 2013 International Meeting for Autism Research in San Sebastián, Spain.

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Scientists home in on key spot in brain for autism risk

by  /  4 May 2013

By analyzing the expression patterns of nine candidate genes for autism, researchers have identified a population of cells and a select time during fetal development that may be key to the disorder.

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Short diagnostic test shows high specificity for autism

by  /  3 May 2013

A ten-minute screen combining a parent questionnaire and home video can detect autism with 90 percent specificity, according to unpublished research presented Thursday at the 2013 International Meeting for Autism Research in San Sebastián, Spain.

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Risky exposures

by  /  3 May 2013

Two large studies confirm that the use of antidepressants or the epilepsy drug valproate by pregnant women raises the risk of autism in their children.

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Identity of autism-linked maternal antibodies revealed

by  /  2 May 2013

Researchers have identified six fetal brain proteins that bind to maternal antibodies, which are thought to trigger changes to the fetal brain and raise the risk of autism. They presented their findings today at the International Meeting for Autism Research in San Sebastián, Spain.

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Behavioral therapy normalizes activity in autism brains

by  /  2 May 2013

Pivotal response training, a form of behavioral therapy for autism, alters brain activity in children with the disorder, normalizing it in some regions and triggering compensatory activity in others, according to a small study. The unpublished results were presented Wednesday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in San Sebastián, Spain.

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