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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Environment

From parental age to infection during pregnancy, environmental elements can influence autism risk.

August 2011

Molecular mechanisms: Antisocial mice have elevated immunity

by  /  26 August 2011

BTBR mice, which are less social than the typical B6 mice, have an elevated immune response in their brains and blood compared with those mice, according to a study published 20 July in PLoS ONE. Hybrids of BTBR and B6 mice have intermediate levels of immune molecules.

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Language gene regulates autism candidate

by  /  25 August 2011

A protein linked to language development, FOXP2, regulates the autism candidate gene MET, according to a study published 10 August in the Journal of Neuroscience.

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Attention deficit, autism share genetic risk factors

by  /  22 August 2011

Some of the same genetic risk factors may underlie both autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study published 10 August in Science Translational Medicine.

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Fear factor

by  /  19 August 2011

A few factors related to childbirth, such as low birth weight or breech birth, are associated with a higher-than-average risk of autism, but none of them show a strong correlation with the disorder on its own.

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Fair representation for the fairer sex in autism research

by  /  16 August 2011

Including more females in autism research studies will aid the search for genetic and environmental susceptibility factors for the disorder, says genetic psychiatrist Lauren Weiss.

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Related risk

by  /  11 August 2011

A complicated interplay between a certain genetic variant and autism, schizophrenia and rheumatoid arthritis adds one more intriguing correlation to the growing list of autism risk factors.

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July 2011

Methylation map of neurons points to autism-related genes

by  /  25 July 2011

Large-scale patterns of methylation throughout the genome affect the expression of many autism-related genes and may contribute to the disorder’s development, according to a study published online Friday in Genome Research. The study is among the first to look at genome-wide patterns of methylation in brain cells.

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Clinical research: Antidepressant use in pregnancy linked to autism

by  /  22 July 2011

Taking antidepressants while pregnant may slightly increase the risk of having a child with autism, reports a study published 4 July in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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Experts critique statistics, conclusion of autism twin study

by  /  14 July 2011

A new study of twins proposes the controversial claim that environmental influences during early development are just as, if not more, important than genetics. But the findings are not substantially different from those of previous twin studies, however, and some experts are critical of the study’s statistics.

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Clinical research: Infertile women should be tested for fragile X

by  /  6 July 2011

Women with a mild version of primary ovarian insufficiency, a disorder that mimics the symptoms of menopause, should be tested for a mutation that can lead to fragile X syndrome, according to a study published 15 June in Human Reproduction.

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