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.

Mutations in a section of chromosome 16 that is linked to autism have an unexpected effect: They alter the miniscule hairs, or cilia, that adorn the surface of all cells. The findings suggest that problems with these cilia may contribute to autism.

The bundle of nerves that connects the brain’s two hemispheres is abnormally thick in infants who are later diagnosed with autism. The broader the bundle, called the corpus callosum, the more severe a child’s symptoms.

Rare inherited mutations may contribute to autism in roughly 10 percent of boys with the disorder, according to a study published 11 May in Nature Genetics. These genetic glitches are primarily passed down from unaffected mothers.

Children whose older sisters are on the spectrum are at higher risk for autism than are those with affected older brothers, a new study suggests. Younger brothers of children with autism are at greater risk than younger sisters.

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.

A new study may help explain why the symptoms of Rett syndrome appear 6 to 18 months after birth. It suggests that the role of MeCP2, the protein missing in the syndrome, becomes more important as the brain matures.

Researchers from four labs were unable to reproduce the findings from a high-profile 2012 study in which bone marrow transplants dramatically extended the lives of mice with features of Rett syndrome. Their sobering findings were published yesterday in Nature.

Among babies who go on to receive a diagnosis of autism at age 2, alterations in brain structures forecast the severity of repetitive behaviors. The preliminary results were presented Saturday at the 2015 International Meeting for Autism Research in Salt Lake City, Utah.  
 

A statistical trick can help researchers home in on subtle genetic blips that contribute to autism, according to unpublished results presented Saturday at the 2015 International Meeting for Autism Research in Salt Lake City, Utah.