Researchers discover autism biomarkers ahead of manifestation of visible symptoms

Orange County, CA - February 20th 2017 -  Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that interferes with normal behavioral development. The main areas impacted by the disorder are in cognitive ability, social interaction, and communication skills. Now affecting 1 in 68 children, it is the fastest growing developmental disorder, but with early intervention those diagnosed can be treated and make exceptional progress.

Children are currently diagnosed, at the earliest, at around 2 years, but symptoms are often not discovered until later, delaying appropriate treatment. In an attempt to discover early indicators of autism, if any, researchers at the University of North Carolina studied 148 children, some of which at higher risk due to predisposition of family having been diagnosed, including parents and siblings. Undergoing brain scans at six, 12 and 24 months old, the study found differences in the total brain volume, surface area, and cortical thickness in children who were diagnosed with autism later on.

"Very early in the first year of life we see surface brain area differences that precede the symptoms that people traditionally associate with autism. So it gives us a good target for when the brain differences might be happening for children at high risk of autism," said Dr. Heather Hazlett, a researcher at the University of North Carolina.

Researchers discover autism biomarkers ahead of manifestation of visible symptoms

Compiling the brain images with artificial intelligence, the computer program was able to predict which children would develop autism with 80% accuracy. This opens up the possibility of scans for at-risk families, as well as an immediate administration of treatment for those identified, including teaching parents of autistic children behavioral therapies, such as different forms of interaction and better communication with their child.

Carol Povey, director of the National Autistic Society's Centre for Autism, has voiced her excitement for the progression in the study, but warns that autism is a spectrum disorder varying from person to person in symptom severity. With no two people affected in the same way, “no single test is likely to be able to identify potential autism in all children.”

Further benefit of the study is its disparagement to the claim of MMR vaccine causing autism. The vaccine is an immunization against measles, mumps, and rubella, all of which have the potential to be fatal if left untreated. The myth of this causation spawned from a fraudulent paper published by Andrew Wakefield “linking” the two. The only correlation between the two is the onset of autistic symptoms and the age a child receives the vaccine.

To read more on their study click here.

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Researchers discover autism biomarkers ahead of manifestation of visible symptoms Orange County, CA – February 20th 2017 –  Autism is a bio-neurological developmental disability that interferes with normal behavioral development. The main areas impacted by the disorder are in cognitive ability, social interaction, and communication skills. Now affecting 1 in 68 children, it is the fastest […]