Q&A

A European initiative that aims to provide a framework for clinical trials in autism has developed tools to track treatment responses.

A $28 million initiative aims to develop objective tools for tracking social skills in children with autism. The initiative’s leader outlines its approach.

Researchers are studying the infant siblings of children with autism, with hopes of improving the disorder’s diagnosis and treatment. They need to recognize the risks of these ‘baby sib’ studies, cautions ethicist Ilina Singh.

Autistic adults should be partners in the research process, not just ‘subjects’ in a study, says Ari Ne’eman.

Autism is undoubtedly on the rise, but we may never be able to fully explain why, says Maureen Durkin.
 

An autism-linked gene controls the number of neurons in the developing brain. Freda Miller and David Kaplan say the finding points to a new role for the gene in the early embryo.

Clinicians saw autism signs in children with mutations in a cancer pathway long before sequencing studies made the connection, says Katherine Rauen.

Understanding how oxytocin works in the brain will help researchers cut through the hype surrounding the infamous ‘love hormone’ and translate it into a treatment for autism, says Larry Young.

Treatments for fragile X syndrome may be more successful if they block direct targets of the key missing protein, says Eric Klann.

Understanding why some children appear to outgrow their autism diagnosis may provide clues about the biology of the disorder but shouldn’t dictate treatment decisions, says Deborah Fein.