Increasing or reducing the levels of the UBE3A gene, which is associated with autism and autism-related syndromes, results in altered patterns of synaptic pruning — a process that snips away brain cell connections.

This month’s issue of Going on Trial takes a sneak peek at some early null results from a small trial of a cannabidiol-based drug for autism, among other recent drug developments.

Neuronal alterations outside the brain may help to explain a host of the condition’s characteristic traits, including sensory changes, gut problems and motor differences.

More autistic women and girls report daily pain than do men and boys with the condition.

Women who receive epidural anesthesia during labor have an elevated chance of having a child with autism, a new study has found. But it is too soon for doctors to recommend against epidurals, experts say.

On 29 July, Michelle Failla and David Moore gave a webinar on pain in autism, which focused on sensations, emotions and behaviors.

Children with autism are about twice as likely as their typical peers to experience chronic or repeated pain.