Tag

Autism

All articles tagged with #autism

science4 days ago•4 min saved

Autism theory reshaped as pioneer regrets 'extreme male brain' label amid major Cambridge donation

Renowned autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen says the 'extreme male brain' label is unhelpful, even as his team advances health-focused autism research funded by a $34.5 million donation to Cambridge University to establish the Lisa Yang Centre for Autism Research and a future clinical centre; the effort seeks to improve life expectancy, enable earlier diagnosis, and explore cardiovascular risk in autistic people—especially women—while emphasizing autistic input in setting priorities.

via The Guardian|

#autism #baron-cohen #cambridge-university

health4 days ago•8 min saved

Autistic Women Break Silence to Reveal Hidden Lives

A BBC feature profiles autistic women who were historically invisible, detailing how masking and late diagnoses shape their lives and advocacy, with examples like Alex Morgan’s The Autistic Woman site and Fern Brady’s memoir, while experts stress the need for better recognition and support for women’s autism and related mental health and menopause considerations.

via BBC|

#autism #autistic-women #health

music4 days ago•20 min saved

SZA Publicly Confirms Autism Diagnosis, Cites Pattern Recognition and AI Views

Grammy-winning singer SZA says she has been formally diagnosed with autism, sharing what appears to be medical paperwork on a burner Instagram account and noting that the diagnosis aligns with her pattern-recognition abilities. She also discusses her stance on AI, recounts recent tensions with an AI-music platform Suno, and reveals that Steve Lacy helped revive her creative spark as she prepares new music.

via Complex|

#ai #autism #autism-spectrum

health10 days ago•11 min saved

New large study finds no link between prenatal acetaminophen use and autism

A large JAMA Internal Medicine study of more than 700,000 Hong Kong mother–child pairs found no association between in‑utero acetaminophen exposure and autism or ADHD, regardless of dose or timing; a sibling‑matched design and negative controls suggest prior links were due to familial confounding rather than a causal effect, aligning with similar studies from Sweden (2024) and Japan (2025).

via Ars Technica|

#acetaminophen #autism #epidemiology

science10 days ago•29 min saved

Reactivating brain circuits reverses autism-like symptoms in mice by restoring neuron structure

A mouse model of autism with a 15q11-13 duplication showed shortened axon initial segments in prefrontal neurons, reducing excitability. Chemogenetic activation of a circuit from the medial prefrontal cortex to the dorsal raphe nucleus lengthened the AIS, normalized sodium-channel components, and markedly improved social interaction while reducing repetitive digging. The AIS changes appeared reversible, suggesting they are a flexible, circuit-level biomarker rather than permanent damage. While promising, the findings are limited to mice and one autism model, and researchers call for live-cell imaging and broader models before considering human translation.

via PsyPost|

#autism #axon-initial-segment #chemogenetics

life-and-style15 days ago•18 min saved

Late-life autism: why seniors go undiagnosed and how families can help

A Guardian piece notes that as many as 89–97% of autistic people over 60 are undiagnosed, calling this a neglected generation, and it guides families on recognizing late-life signs, weighing the benefits of diagnosis, and how to pursue assessment—via GP or regulated private clinicians—and how to support older relatives through routines, communication strategies, and access to care whether or not a formal diagnosis is obtained.

via The Guardian|

#adhd #aging #autism

neuroscience23 days ago•108 min saved

Convergent Cortical Development Delays Across Autism Mouse Models

A large multi-omics study profiling 251 samples from 11 ASD-linked mouse models across embryonic and postnatal stages, both sexes, and two brain regions finds convergence on disruptions to the radial glial lineage that manifest as a transient developmental delay rather than lasting lineage mis-specification. Neurons show the largest early postnatal transcriptional changes, including downregulation of synaptic and ion-channel genes consistent with delayed maturation. Within each developmental window, models converge on shared molecular programs, but the convergence diminishes by postnatal day 14, with cross-genotype heterogeneity overlaying stage-specific effects. Electrophysiology corroborates altered neuronal excitability and synaptic properties across models, and sex-specific gene expression differences emerge, often with larger effects in females. Using multiplexed snRNA-seq/snATAC-seq (snMultiome), EdU lineage tracing, RNAscope, and biophysical modeling, the study maps developmental trajectories and cross-model convergence, offering a unified view of how diverse ASD mutations perturb cortical development.

via Nature|

#asd #autism #cortical-development

science26 days ago•5 min saved

Autism Shows Two Distinct Brain Connectivity Subtypes Across Species

An international study analyzing mouse models and human brain scans identified two autism subtypes—hypoconnectivity (reduced connectivity linked to synapse genes) and hyperconnectivity (increased connectivity linked to immune-related genes)—a finding replicated across datasets that could guide subtype-specific therapies, with data and methods openly shared for future research; about a quarter of the human brains fell into these groups, signaling a move toward biologically grounded stratification beyond a single-spectrum view.

via ScienceAlert|

#autism #brain-connectivity #cross-species

health29 days ago•41 min saved

Desperate Families Chase Unproven Stem Cell Infusions for Autism as US Oversight Loosens

A Guardian investigation shows a booming US market for unapproved stem cell infusions marketed to autistic children, with families paying tens of thousands despite scant evidence of effectiveness and notable safety concerns. The piece links this growth to political moves by RFK Jr and allies to loosen FDA oversight, describes state efforts like Florida’s permissive stance, and contrasts hopeful anecdotes with controlled trials (Duke and Sutter Health) that found little to no autism improvement, highlighting the risk of exploitation for vulnerable families while regulators grapple with how to respond.

via The Guardian|

#autism #fda-regulation #health

health29 days ago•6 min saved

Unproven stem cell infusions for autism draw FDA warnings and political support

Autistic children as young as 18 months are receiving unapproved umbilical cord stem cell infusions at US clinics, promoted with support from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and autism advocates, despite no proven benefit and FDA warnings that such treatments are likely illegal outside clinical trials; procedures can cost up to $20,000 per session and may require repeated top-ups, while a Duke University trial found little objective improvement and safety risks persist. The article also discusses Mexico‑based trials and marketing tactics by clinics exploiting regulatory gaps and misinterpretations of the Right‑to‑Try law.

via The Guardian|

#autism #fda-warning #health

science29 days ago•8 min saved

Two Brain Signatures Divide Autism Into Distinct Subtypes

A large international study analyzed brain connectivity in about 940 autistic individuals and over 1,000 neurotypical controls, plus mouse models, and found two reproducible autism subtypes: a hyperconnectivity subtype with stronger inter-regional brain communication linked to immune-related pathways, and a hypoconnectivity subtype with reduced communication linked to synaptic pathways. Together these subtypes account for roughly 25% of autism cases and provide a biology-based framework for precision, personalized approaches to care.

via SciTechDaily|

#autism #brain-connectivity #fmri

science1 month ago•6 min saved

Targeted Glycine Transporter Silencing Revives NMDA Receptors in Autism Models

Researchers used antisense oligonucleotides to suppress Slc6a20a/SLC6A20, a glycine transporter concentrated in cortex and hippocampus, restoring NMDA receptor (NMDAR) function and reversing social, communication, and repetitive-behavior deficits in adult SHANK2/SHANK3 mutant mice and human cortical organoids. The treatment normalized phosphorylation signaling at synapses, showed durable effects for at least 8 weeks after a single dose, and avoided dangerous brainstem side effects seen with previous GlyT1-targeted approaches. This approach, which modulates endogenous signaling rather than re-expressing genes, holds promise for ASD and other NMDAR-hypofunction disorders such as schizophrenia and could translate from mice to human models.

via Neuroscience News|

#antisense-oligonucleotide #autism #glycine-transporter

science1 month ago•6 min saved

Fever may gently ease autism symptoms, guiding new therapy ideas

MIT and Harvard Medical School researchers link fever-related easing of autism-like symptoms to IL-17a, an immune signal that calms overactive brain circuits in mice; they showed IL-17a injections into the brain improved symptoms without fever and plan a human biomarker biobank to pursue therapies that mimic the fever effect.

via Boing Boing|

#autism #fever #il-17a

health1 month ago•4 min saved

Retraction casts doubt on long-published autism-vaccine link study

A 16-year-old study claiming that infant hepatitis B vaccination increases autism risk has been retracted for fundamental methodological flaws, including too few autism cases (31) and overstated causality. The authors dispute the withdrawal, and the paper had previously been cited in CDC/ACIP discussions, influencing vaccine-safety reviews before the retraction was issued.

via Retraction Watch|

#autism #health #hepatitis-b

health1 month ago•10 min saved

RFK Jr. pushes for federal access to medical records to study vaccines and autism

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. is seeking access to identifiable Americans’ medical records via state health-information exchanges to study a possible link between vaccines and autism. The move has drawn privacy, legal, and practical questions, with some exchanges reluctant to share data and officials noting unclear protections. Kennedy and allies point to a pipeline of studies and Nebraska-linked funding, but there is no disclosed plan for data handling or public rollout, and critics warn the data may not yield definitive answers.

via CNN|

#autism #health #health-information-exchanges