Rapid increase in brain volume in the first year of a baby’s life, when compared to other infants, may help predict an early autism diagnosis. A small neuroimaging study was able to accurately predict the infants who were at a high risk of developing autism by 24 months. To arrive at these predictions, researchers measured […]
Tag: autism
How heritable is autism?
A new study shows how complex it is to understand autism from a genetic point of view. Researchers sequenced the genomes of 85 families with two children who are both affected with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They found that the majority (around 70%) of affected siblings did not share common mutations. Greater than 100 susceptibility […]
Common cause: how genes influence autism
A new study finds that mutations in two very different genes can have similar effects on developing brain cells, shedding light on the origins of autism. Researchers looked at neuronal stem cells with mutations in one of two genes; in humans, each of these mutations leads to a different neurodevelopmental disorder, although both disorders are […]
Antidepressants during pregnancy may be linked to ADHD in kids
A new study finds that exposure to antidepressants in the womb may be linked to an increased risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the researchers caution that the risks of depressed mothers-to-be stopping their medication may be greater for the unborn child than the increased risk of developing ADHD associated with continuing […]
