Autism breakthrough could lead to new treatments
September 8, 2011 By Sunanda Creagh
Researchers say they have identified two different types of autism, paving the way for more targeted treatment. Credit: Flickr/Pondspider
US researchers say they have identified at least two distinct types of autism, paving the way for new and more targeted treatments.
Autism, a neurobiological disorder that impairs social interaction skills and causes an unusual interest in repetitive behaviour, affects around 1 in 160 Australian children. Four out of five children with autism are boys.
Treatment options range from behavioral and therapy-based interventions to alternative medicines but so far researchers have been unable to differentiate between shades of autism.
Now the worlds largest study of children with autism has led to the discovery that there are at least two biologically distinct subtypes of the disorder.
Researchers from the MIND Institute at the University of California used data on 350 children with autism from the five year Autism Phenome Project, to identify the two types.
One group have unusually large brains by four to five months of age, even where the symptoms of autism are not seen until 18 to 24 months.
Another subgroup was identified in which the children had some kind of immune system dysfunction.
