In a study published in the current online issue of JAMA Psychiatry, an international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, report finding a highly accurate blood-based measure that could lead to development of a clinical test for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk in males as young as one to two years old. The test could be done in community pediatric settings. The degree of accuracy, they said, out performs other behavioral and genetic screens for infants and toddlers with ASD described in literature.
The study used an unbiased systems biology-based method to search for genes and gene pathways in blood samples that best distinguished ASD infants and toddlers from typically developing toddlers and toddlers with non-autism developmental delays. Specifically, the researchers measured leukocyte (white blood cell) RNA expression levels.
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Blood-based genetic biomarkers identify young boys with autism
Source: NeuroScientist News
Image credits: CDC Public Health Image Library
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