LAT: Research Hints at Possible Diagnostic Tests at Birth for Autism

[DeepModem Mom]

Research Hints at Possible Diagnostic Tests at Birth for Autism
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer


Autistic children have abnormalities in their immune systems and unusual constellations of proteins in their blood that may be an indicator of the disorder, University of California, Davis researchers said Thursday.

The findings "suggest the possibility for future diagnostic tests for autism at birth" and may mean that "we can get children into effective treatment much earlier than is now possible," said Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg of the Boston University School of Medicine, who chaired the 4th International Meeting for Autism Research in Boston, where the results were presented.

The findings suggest that researchers are beginning to tease out the biological and developmental causes of the disabling disorder, which is now thought to affect as many as one in every 166 children. Autism has a broad spectrum of symptoms, but the disorder is marked by poor language skills, an inability to handle social relations and a lack of connection to the world.

Two groups of researchers from the MIND Institute at UC Davis reported that autistic children have a dysfunctional immune system, giving them an abnormal response to pathogens and other agents in the environment....


http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-autism6may06,0,4462303.story?coll=la-home-headlines