A small study has shown that children with severe autism have problems with infection-fighting cells called granulocytes. Their granulocytes are less efficient at fighting infection than the same cells in children who don't have autism. The granulocytes of the children with autism had a dysfunction in the mitochondria, the part of the cell that generates energy, among other things.
A large study in Sweden found that heredity accounted for half of the risk of autism, with unspecified environmental factors accounting for the rest of the risk in a population.
A new study refutes the idea that people with autism are not affected by loneliness. In fact, adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can experience negative consequences of loneliness, as can people who don't have autism, according to research by a University of Missouri psychologist.
The number of children diagnosed with autism has grown by almost 30 percent, from 1 in 88 children two years ago to 1 in 68 today, according to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A large study from Sweden found that the children born to fathers aged 45 and older were at greater risk of having autism and several psychiatric disorders than the children whose fathers were in their early 20s.
Mothers of children with autism use different parenting techniques than mothers of children who don't have the developmental disorder, according to a new study. When parenting a child with autism, the moms rely less on discipline to enforce rules and more on reinforcing desired behaviors, which the researchers called "positive parenting."
Autism Speaks, the science and advocacy organization, has created a program to help service providers offer scholarships for swimming and water safety lessons for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The group hopes to improve safety and prevent drownings.
Researchers are testing a blood pressure drug on some European children to see if it improves the core symptoms of autism. The drug, bumetanide, has been tested in mice bred with a genetic risk for autism, and in rats exposed to a drug that can cause autism.
Kennedy Krieger Institute announces the appointment of Dr. Paul H. Lipkin as Director and Principal Investigator of the Interactive Autism Network, a national online autism registry and research enterprise.
Autism Speaks and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children have joined forces to address wandering by people with autism.