Spectrum: Autism Research News

Research roundup

• Autistic people have died by suicide at three times the rate of non-autistic people in Denmark. JAMA Network Open
• Children with autism may become less active in their teenage years than non-autistic children. Autism
• Autistic children aged 3 to 5 often have feeding and swallowing difficulties arising from multiple issues, such as sensory problems and repetitive behaviors. African Health Sciences
• Infants with tuberous sclerosis complex who experience seizures should be monitored for autism. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology
• Rats exposed to an activated immune system in utero appear to have altered activity patterns and circadian rhythm as adults. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
• A comprehensive review of the TCF4 gene may reveal clues to how genetic variants lead to autism and psychiatric conditions. Translational Psychiatry
• A new rapid screening test for autism in toddlers, tested in a real-world clinic, appears to be reliable and easy to implement. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Success in school depends on a person’s cognitive abilities, but it may also be influenced by genetic variants related to personality traits and psychiatric conditions. Nature Genetics
• Developmental conditions with known genetic links appear to occur with different frequencies in Chinese versus Western populations. Genetics in Medicine
• Wearing a face mask during magnetic resonance imaging may increase the degree of contrast for baseline readings but does not affect measurements of task-induced brain activity. NeuroImage
• Adults with autism have an elevated risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities

Science and society

• Unregulated clinics continue to hawk unproven stem cell therapies for autism and other conditions, an issue that Spectrum investigated in 2019. Business Insider
• The number of rats and mice used in scientific research in the United States is under dispute, with estimates ranging from 10 million to more than 100 million. Science
• Autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen has been knighted in the United Kingdom. Cambridge Independent
• People with intellectual disabilities should be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination in the U.K., three healthcare experts argue. The BMJ
• Autistic politician Jessica Benham, whom Spectrum interviewed in November, says her life experiences will inform her service as a Pennsylvania legislator. Today
• Explaining the science and answering questions about vaccines are key steps to countering anti-vax misinformation. Business Insider
• The National Fragile X Foundation is slated to hold a virtual meeting on 3 March to hear patient perspectives on needs and concerns for drug development. Fragile X News Today
• Alycia Halladay, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, has been elected board president of the Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation. Autism Science Foundation