A teenage girl with Rett syndrome has a mutation in WFR45, a gene that is mutated in people who abruptly lose motor and mental skills in adulthood, according to a study published 13 March in the Journal of Human Genetics.
Many of the children with autism known to have outgrown their diagnosis received intense behavioral therapy for long periods of time during childhood, reports a study published in May in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
Researchers have linked defects in the dopamine brain circuit to behaviors of a new mouse model of the 16p11.2 deletion. In a study in the 16 May Cell Reports, they suggest that the mutation alters the brain’s regulation of dopamine and may be responsible for behavioral problems, including autism.
Risperidone, the first drug approved for children with autism and the most widely used, improves some children’s behavior but can have severe side effects, suggests an informal analysis of the drug’s use.
Injecting antibodies taken from mothers of children with autism directly into the brains of fetal mice results in autism-like behaviors in the mice in adulthood, according to a study published 5 March in Behavioural Brain Research.
Certain DNA repeats that increased exponentially during human evolution are directly related to the severity of autism symptoms, according to a preliminary study published 20 March in PLoS Genetics.
The equivalent of one-tenth of a single pill of the anxiety drug clonazepam alleviates many autism-like behaviors in a mouse model of the disorder, according to a study published 19 March in Neuron.
An automated system developed for tracking the movements of lab animals can be used to accurately map the activity of children with autism, researchers reported in the February Molecular Autism. When given free rein, the system found, children with autism tend to explore a room’s edges, whereas those with other developmental disorders cling to their parents.
Two studies published in the past month lend support to the notion that autism looks different in girls than it does in boys, making it harder to recognize and diagnose in girls. The studies reflect growing suspicion in the research community that the underlying biology and the experiences of girls with autism may both be distinct.
Children who show several repetitive behaviors — such as flapping their hands or spinning their toys — at their first birthday have nearly four times the risk of autism of children who don’t show repetitive behaviors. That’s the conclusion from a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology.