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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: pregnancy

November 2013

Chemical messenger may drive maternal infection’s effects

by  /  13 November 2013

A mother’s exposure to infection can exacerbate the effects of a genetic mutation and contribute to autism or schizophrenia in her pups, suggests an unpublished mouse study presented Wednesday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Brain’s immune cells boost rapid transmission of signals

by  /  11 November 2013

Two new studies bolster the emerging idea that microglia, cells that were long dismissed as passive soldiers of the brain’s immune system, are in fact actively involved in shoring up connections between neurons. The unpublished work was presented Sunday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Photograph of a tadpole swimming.

First tadpole model of autism surfaces at conference

by  /  11 November 2013

Researchers have recreated one of the most popular rodent models of autism in a decidedly slimier animal: the tadpole. The unpublished study was presented Sunday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

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Photograph of a doctor performing a thyroid exam on a woman.

Clinical research: Low thyroid in pregnancy linked to autism

by  /  1 November 2013

Low levels of a thyroid hormone during pregnancy raise the risk of autism-like symptoms in the child by fourfold, according to a study published 13 August in Annals of Neurology.

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October 2013

Diabetic jeopardy

by  /  15 October 2013

Women who have diabetes when pregnant are at an increased risk of having a child with autism, reports a study published 22 September in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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Mother’s immune response triggers odd behavior in monkeys

by  /  7 October 2013

Triggering immune defenses in pregnant monkeys can lead to repetitive behaviors and social problems in their babies, according to a study published 4 September in Biological Psychiatry.

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August 2013

Large study links autism to autoimmune disease in mothers

by  /  22 August 2013

About one in ten women who have a child with autism have immune molecules in their bloodstream that react with proteins in the brain, according to a study published 20 August in Molecular Psychiatry.

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Fertility factor

by  /  6 August 2013

The simplest form of in vitro fertilization does not increase the risk for autism or intellectual disability, but the effect of other fertility treatments is still unclear, according to two large Scandinavian studies published in July.
 

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Multinational resource compiles autism risk factors

by  /  5 August 2013

A new database pools health registry data from seven countries, dramatically boosting sample sizes for epidemiological studies of autism.

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July 2013

Where will the immunity-brain connection lead us?

by  /  29 July 2013

New findings identifying the targets of antibodies found in mothers of children with autism add to mounting evidence that the prenatal immune environment can alter fetal brain development, and perhaps lead to autism. Now what?

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