Several scientists at the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation’s annual meeting focused on the wide range of symptoms, including a sudden loss of motor and cognitive skills, that seem to crop up in adults with the disorder.
Losing one or both copies of TSC1, one of the two genes responsible for tuberous sclerosis complex, in specific cells of the cerebellum can trigger several autism-like behaviors in mice, according to research published 1 July in Nature.
Common variants in three genes involved in the immune system are more likely to crop up in people with autism than in typical controls, according to a study published 9 June in Molecular Autism.
Nearly all children diagnosed with autism retain their diagnosis when screened again at 8 years of age, according to a population-based study of more than 1,000 children, published in June in the Journal of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics.
Pregnant rats exposed to a virus give birth to offspring with significantly altered levels of three proteins important for brain development, according to a study published 9 June in Molecular Brain.
Two new studies of the brain’s electrical activity bring the autism field one step closer to a physiological measure that can detect the disorder and predict who will go on to develop it.
Offspring born to pregnant rats with an activated immune system emit more distress calls when they receive electrical shocks than do controls, according to a study published 9 June in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.
A girl with autism has a spontaneous deletion in CMIP, a gene associated with specific language impairment, providing another genetic link between the two disorders. The case study was published 11 June in Autism Research.
Researchers have launched an effort to yoke together disparate gene sequencing projects in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., aiming to double the number of known autism-related genes in the next three to four years.
Calibrated severity score, a test based on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, provides a measure of autism symptoms that is independent of age and language ability, according to a study published 24 May in Autism Research.