Advances in Autism
The SITNFlash monthly email series reports interesting developments in the world of biological and biomedical science. This issue discusses two recent headlines concerning autism, as April is National Autism Awareness Month.
Autism is a neurological disorder that leaves a person unable to participate in various aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure activities. However, motor skills are left intact; several cases of ‘idiot savants’ exist where the child is a prodigious musician, artist, or excels at memorization. Autism develops early in childhood, four times more often in boys than in girls. Though the behavior of afflicted individuals is readily observable, the true nature of what is wrong with individual’s brains is poorly understood. Even less is known about what goes wrong developmentally to cause the neural and ensuing behavioral maladies.
Research being performed in our nation’s capital has begun peeking into the autistic individual’s brain by looking at brain activity with ‘Functional’ MRI (or fMRI). fMRI monitors the function of different brain areas by detecting changes in blood flow and metabolism. With it, scientists can compare the brain activity of autistic vs. non-autistic people when they listen to a conversation, read a book, or play a video game. Scientists hope that by observing this brain activity, we can get a sense of how an autistic person’s brain works: Does their brain ignore much of the world, or just certain elements of conversation or vocal inflection? Do they seem to interpret speech fine, but can’t consider it in context or react to it properly? While they have no definitive answers yet, their work is likely to yield many aspects of the disease far too subtle to have been detected earlier.
Links about fMRI can be found at: http://www.functionalmri.org/
Another study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggests the underlying developmental defect is due to a complex interaction of genetic factors. The study implicates a gene which, when defective, appears to double the risk of getting the disease. Interestingly, the gene product is involved in energy production in the brain; a shift in energy stores could dramatically alter how the brain is put together. While the study doesn’t suggest a single gene is responsible, it does suggest that we may able to track down a set of genes responsible for the disorder.
More information can be found at:
Some general information about autism can be found at:
More interesting headlines
Is the biological clock ticking more slowly than we thought? Ovaries have been found to have extra production potential.
Our understanding Alzheimer’s disease is somewhat limited, though growing. A few articles underscore the point that we need to practice optimistic pragmatism in matters of therapeutic science. We do have useful treatments in hand, but a full-blown cure, though in the works, is a ways off.
Upcoming Longwood Seminars
Longwood Seminars at Harvard Medical School, in the heart of Boston's Longwood Medical Area, are free public educational events featuring the latest information from Harvard medical faculty.
All programs are held 5:30-7:00 pm at Harvard Medical School, New Research Building, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston. Light snacks & beverages may be purchased at the adjacent Elements Cafe prior to each program. Online registration at http://www.hms.harvard.edu/longwood_seminars.
Upcoming program:
- April 28- Taking Charge: Patient Advocacy for Yourself or a Loved One
