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Spectrum: Autism Research News

News Archive

September 2009

Mother’s age is real factor in autism risk, study says

by  /  28 September 2009

Older women are much more likely to have a child with autism than are older men, according to a controversial report published in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

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New blood test measures levels of fragile X protein

by  /  22 September 2009

A new molecular screen allows researchers to determine for the first time the precise amounts of FMRP protein, whose absence in the brain causes fragile X syndrome.

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Imaging study ties brain connection to sociability

by  /  15 September 2009

Scientists have linked a person’s social ability with the strength of a specific connection between two areas deep within the brain.

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Family ties compel some scientists to tackle autism

by  /  9 September 2009

Many autism researchers began studying the disorder after a loved one’s diagnosis, but some struggle with the decision to enroll their children in studies.

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Autism impedes ability to read body language

by  /  1 September 2009

A glitch in visual processing may explain why people with autism struggle to gauge emotions from the body language of others, according to a study published in the journal Neuropsychologia.
 
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August 2009

New autism risk genes may bolster fetal testosterone theory

by  /  25 August 2009

A team of British researchers has garnered some of the first genetic evidence supporting their theory that sex hormones play a role in the development of autism.

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Study raises questions about autism-gut connection

by  /  18 August 2009

Children with autism are no more likely than healthy children to have some of the gastrointestinal symptoms — such as diarrhea, acid reflux and abdominal discomfort — previously tied to the disorder, according to one of the first long-term investigations of the supposed link.

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X chromosome helps unravel complex genetics of autism

by  /  11 August 2009

Genetic studies to date have identified variations linked to autism in 21 of the 23 human chromosomes. Now, using a variety of new, high-resolution techniques, scientists are mining one of these chromosomes — the X — for a more comprehensive set of genetic anomalies associated with the disorder.

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Atomic close-up of brain proteins hints at diversity of autism

by  /  6 August 2009

Scientists have unveiled the complete structure of an interwoven complex of two types of brain proteins necessary for forming and maintaining connections between neurons.

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Gene ties trust hormone to Williams syndrome and autism

by  /  3 August 2009

Studying the relatively well-defined genetics of Williams syndrome may help unravel the poorly understood genetic and neurobiological roots of autism, researchers say.

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