Drugs designed to treat fragile X syndrome have yet to show substantial benefits in people. But rather than abandon them, child neurologist Elizabeth Berry-Kravis suggests a new way to measure their effectiveness.

Existing autism therapies do little to lower the lifetime costs of having the disorder, so clinicians should consider more efficient and inexpensive alternatives, says David Mandell.

Names such as autism, schizophrenia and intellectual disability are ‘umbrella’ terms that muddy the search for the true cause of an individual’s symptoms, says Eric London. He plans to come up with an alternative diagnostic scheme for developmental disabilities over the next two years.

Finding people who have an autism-linked mutation but no apparent symptoms may be the key to identifying drug targets for the disorder, says Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health.
 

Like people, monkeys vary widely in their social abilities. Behavioral neuroscientist Karen Parker explains how studying social behavior in monkeys can advance how we understand and treat autism.

It’s been 15 years since researchers published an epidemiological study with results so striking they sparked worldwide changes in food fortification. Geneticist Joseph Cubells is revisiting the results to determine whether folate decreases autism risk. 

Neurologist Lawrence Reiter is growing neurons from the discarded teeth of children with neurological syndromes. Here he describes how dental pulp may help researchers find the genes and pathways that underlie autism symptoms.

Geneticist James Noonan explains how the complex function of CHD8, the leading candidate for autism risk, points to a way to unravel the mechanisms underlying autism.

Cell biologist Nicholas Katsanis explains why zebrafish have been key in studying a chromosomal region linked to autism.

Luca Santarelli, head of neuroscience at Roche, explains why he is optimistic that pharmaceutical companies can overcome the obstacles in autism drug development.