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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Treatments

Efforts to ease the symptoms of autism are beginning to ramp up, with promising candidates in various stages of testing.

Research image of organoids in the forebrain.

Head size parts autism into two major subtypes

by  /  12 September 2023
An imbalance in the number of excitatory neurons in early brain development may account for the difference.
A patient receives transcranial magnetic stimulation

Magnetic stimulation for autism: Q&A with Xujun Duan

by  /  11 September 2023
A new individualized approach to transcranial magnetic stimulation may one day be an effective treatment for social and communication difficulties, if the results from Duan’s small preliminary trial pan out.
Portrait of Evdokia Anagnostou.

Evdokia Anagnostou and the concept of a good life

by  /  1 September 2023
The Holland Bloorview clinician and research director discusses how growing up on a small island shaped her career and the existential questions that keep her up at night.
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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Justin West holding his son.

Progress amid setbacks in drug trials for rare forms of epilepsy: Q&A with Justin West

by  /  30 August 2023

Despite grave side effects, it’s vital to keep developing treatments for rare genetic forms of childhood epilepsy, says West, president of the KCNT1 Epilepsy Foundation and father of a son with the condition.

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Black-and-white illustrated portrait of Jonathan Green.

‘Emergent and transactional’: How Jonathan Green is rethinking autism and interventions

by  /  28 August 2023

The experienced clinician discusses writing his recent paper, and its reception in the field.

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Close up of blood vessels shows probe sticking to vessel wall.

Brain-surgery-free probes can record single-neuron activity

by  /  15 August 2023

The new devices, which monitor neural activity from within blood vessels, show long-term stability in rats and could one day deliver electrical stimulation.

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

How organ-on-a-chip models can help drug development

by  /  31 July 2023

This month’s Going on Trial newsletter explores how organ-on-a-chip models could smooth the transition from preclinical to clinical trials, among other drug development news.

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Research images of a Fanzor protein.

Compact kin of CRISPR discovered across eukaryotes

by  /  31 July 2023

The newfound DNA-cutting enzyme, called Fanzor, can be programmed to edit the human genome and could prove easier to deliver to cells than current CRISPR tools.

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Illustrated portrait of Amy Wetherby.

Amy Wetherby: Impatient for progress

by  /  26 July 2023

A speech-language pathologist by training, Wetherby has spent more than four decades developing tools to help identify and treat autism early; now her work has taken on a more personal sense of urgency.

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Illustration of half of a brain on the left and half of a heart on the right

Change of heart and mind: Autism’s ties to cardiac defects

by  /  21 July 2023

Children with congenital heart disease have an increased likelihood of autism. Why?

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Unknown isoform adds twist to theory of fragile X origins

by  /  11 July 2023

Contrary to conventional wisdom, most people with fragile X syndrome express the FMR1 gene — albeit improperly.

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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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