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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: biomarkers

September 2023
A hand reaches from above to add a pill to a stack that is resting against the x-axis of a graph.

Looking at eye tracking’s potential for clinical trials

by  /  28 September 2023

This month’s Going on Trial newsletter explores how eye tracking might be used beyond helping with diagnosis, among other drug development news.

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Common genetic variants shape the structure of the cortex

by  /  18 September 2023

A genome-wide association study lays a foundation for deeper investigation of these variants in neurodevelopmental conditions.

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Research images from an eye-tracking study.

Tablet-based tool to spot autism validated in two studies

by  /  5 September 2023

The new tool could help clinicians diagnose autism in children younger than 3, the findings show.

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August 2023
Illustration of a sheet of red and white pills, with the red pills arranged in the form of a question mark.

Trials test utility of EEG biomarkers for autism-related conditions

by  /  31 August 2023

This month’s Going on Trial newsletter dives into an electroencephalography biomarker that could track the efficacy of treatments for dup15q and Angelman syndromes, among other drug development news.

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A grid of four brain scans showing excess cerebrospinal fluid.

Is excess brain fluid an early marker of autism?

by  /  17 August 2023

Brain scans of hundreds of infants suggest that up to 80 percent of those with autism have unusual amounts of cerebrospinal fluid. Researchers are studying how this might contribute to the condition.

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July 2023
A slice of a cerebellum

Mutation in top autism-linked gene may alter eye reflex

by  /  7 July 2023

The discovery could help clinicians diagnose children who carry mutations in the gene, called SCN2A, and gauge their responses to potential therapies.

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April 2023
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Reader response; cerebrospinal fluid; connectivity subgroups

by  /  18 April 2023

In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, researchers upend early interventions and diagnostic boundaries.

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Closeup photograph of an infant lying in a bassinet under white sheets with their left hand lifted close to their ear.

New technique details brainstem’s response to sounds

by  /  4 April 2023

By revealing differences between autistic and non-autistic children, it could help identify autism in babies.

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March 2023
MRI scan with a section enlarged to display the scan's grey-white boundary.

Brain imaging do-over offers clues to field’s replication problem

by  /  13 March 2023

Methodological choices and study-site artifacts confounded an attempt to replicate findings in support of an autism brain-imaging biomarker, according to new unpublished work.

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February 2023
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Busting biomarkers; going after GABA; reproducibility illusion

by  /  16 February 2023

In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, scientists find little to be excited about in research on biomarkers for neurodevelopmental conditions.

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