People on the Spectrum 66% less likely to get Cancer

      A reprint of the Bullet Points People with autism had more variation in genes known to cause cancer Yet they were 66% less likely to be diagnosed with the disease, study found Experts: Findings could pave way for new treatments for both conditions Scientists already studying whether cancer drugs could help treat autism   People with autism are significantly less likely to suffer from cancer, a study has revealed. While they have more gene mutations known to cause cancer, they are 66 per cent less likely to be…

Read More

Brain Scan Software can spot Adults with Autism

“THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS BEFORE. WE FINALLY OVERCAME THE PROBLEM.” A computer algorithm called a “classifier” can distinguish between adults with and without autism by studying brain scans. The software found 16 key connections that allowed it to tell, with high accuracy, who had been traditionally diagnosed with autism and who had not. The team developed the classifier with 181 adult volunteers at three sites in Japan and then applied it in a group of 88 American adults at seven sites. All the study volunteers with autism diagnoses had…

Read More

Pesticide effect on cells may resemble signs of autism

A class of fungicides used on crops can produce changes in mouse brain cells that look strikingly similar to those seen in the brains of people with autism. The findings, published 31 March in Nature Communications, support the use of ‘transcriptomics’ — a rapid method of analyzing gene expression in cells — for identifying chemicals that trigger patterns of gene expression like those seen in autism. The method could flag chemicals that contribute to the condition1. “It provides a rational way of finding environmental risk factors,” says study leader Mark…

Read More

Apple’s short film on Autism proves that accessibility features matter

Apple has released a couple of videos over the weekend starring Dillan Barmache, a 16-year-old kid who is autistic and non-verbal. These two films are powerful and also make a strong point in favor of accessibility features, specialized apps for autistic people and more. Autism affects social and communication behaviors. Autistic people have a hard time communicating with the world. But it doesn’t mean they don’t have things to say. It’s easy to shut yourself away when you have this disorder because you have a hard time talking with people around…

Read More

Eye-gaze tracking may offer objective tool for detecting autism in children

Methods for detecting early signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are primarily observational, spanning from parent reports to clinical evaluation. But researchers at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital have found remote eye-gaze tracking technology may be a more effective tool for spotting signs of ASD. In research published Friday in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, study authors observed the technology helped identify children with autism from children without autism but with other developmental issues like ADHD, anxiety and intellectual disabilities. “Abnormal eye gaze is a hallmark…

Read More