Author: Autism Today News.

Kirsty Orton didn’t mind whether her baby was autistic or not – she just wanted her 12-month-old to enjoy being with his mummy: to notice her when she came into the room. To meet her eye when she talked to him and to be able to communicate.“All I wanted to do was be able to connect and bond with Fynn,” she said. “But when your baby looks everywhere else in the room except at you and stays in their own zone, like you’re completely unimportant to them, it’s upsetting in a way that I struggle to put into words.”Orton reiterates…

(SACRAMENTO) Researchers in the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences have received a grant to study the role of the cerebellum in autism. “We need a more holistic understanding of the brain circuits that drive autism,” said Alex Nord, an associate professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior, and a researcher at the Center for Neuroscience and the UC Davis MIND Institute. “The cerebellum is a key component that has been largely overlooked until recently.” Nord partnered with Diasynou Fioravante, also an associate professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior and Center for Neuroscience researcher. They received an R21 grant from the…

More than 5.4 million adults in the U.S. have autism. That’s about the populations of Los Angeles and Phoenix combined. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a developmental disability that affects how a person experiences the world around them. If this definition sounds broad, there’s a reason for that. Autism manifests in many different ways. “ASD is characterized by deficits in reciprocal social interactions, restricted interest, and repetitive behaviors,” says Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Professor Ivan Iossifov. “It’s a very prevalent disorder, with one in a hundred girls and even more boys diagnosed.” Despite its prevalence, there’s still…

(Photo credit: Getty Images) DALLAS – May 23, 2024 – A new study focused on the gene tied to a rare form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) called FOXP1 syndrome offers hope that gene therapy might be able to help patients with this condition. Genevieve Konopka, Ph.D., is Professor of Neuroscience and an Investigator in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at UT Southwestern. Dr. Konopka is a Jon Heighten Scholar in Autism Research and holds the Townsend Distinguished Chair in Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders. In a study published in Science Advances, researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center found that using gene…

Culturing BCOs from human iPSCs. Credit: Molecular Autism (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s13229-024-00602-8 Some children with autism experience profound, lifelong difficulties like developmental delay, social struggles and even the inability to speak. Others experience more mild symptoms that improve with time. The disparity in outcomes has been a mystery to scientists, until now. A new study, published in Molecular Autism by researchers at University of California San Diego, is the first to shed light on the matter. Among its findings: The biological basis for these two subtypes of autism develops in utero. Researchers used blood-based stem cells from 10 toddlers, ages 1…

The onus is often on researchers from high-income countries to start these conversations. Indeed, because of the skewed power dynamics, their collaborators may not feel comfortable voicing a critique or raising questions. Lauren Franz, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and global health at Duke University, notes that scientists from high-income countries can also do self-checks by looking at where their global south colleagues are included as authors on publications and provide opportunities for first authorship. They can also interrogate their findings’ local relevance, impact and potential implementation. Franz, who has led projects tailoring early autism interventions in Africa,…

The term “profound autism” describes autistic people who need around-the-clock supervision and support with activities of daily living. The Lancet Commission on the Future of Care and Clinical Research in Autism coined the term in 2021 to address the unique challenges and needs of a swath of the autism spectrum that is underrepresented in research. But putting the definition to good use has proved challenging. Although the Lancet commission stated that most people with profound autism have intellectual disability, minimal language or both, researchers have relied almost exclusively on measures of cognitive and verbal abilities. What’s more, those measures vary…

Scientists may have confirmed a theory about the origins of autism by creating miniature, 3D replicas of human brains.These tiny brains, derived from the stem cells of toddlers, were grown to show what the childrens’ brains would have looked like as they developed in the womb.In the new study, published May 25 in the journal Molecular Autism, scientists drew stem cells from the blood of 10 toddlers with autism and six toddlers without the disorder. At the time, the kids were between 1 and 2 years old. Using growth-inducing chemicals, the researchers grew “minibrains,” or brain organoids, from these stem…

Scientists have raised hopes for a cheap and simple test for autism after discovering consistent differences between the microbes found in the guts of autistic people and those without the condition.The finding suggests that a routine stool sample test could help doctors identify autism early, meaning people would receive their diagnosis, and hopefully support, much faster than with the lengthy procedure used in clinics today.“Usually it takes three to four years to make a confirmed diagnosis for suspected autism, with most children diagnosed at six years old,” Prof Qi Su at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said. “Our microbiome…

One of the most detailed studies yet has cemented the link between autism and what dwells within the gut.The new analysis hasn’t just studied the bacteria native to the digestive tract, but the fungi, archaea, and viruses that can be found there, too. The team, led by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has developed a comprehensive assay that reveals a correlation between changes across the entire gut microbiome composition and diagnosis with autism spectrum disorder. While we still don’t understand this link, the building evidence offers new ways to both diagnose and understand autism. “What is exciting…