Israeli and US scientists make possible autism diagnosis breakthrough
Researchers in a joint team including from Ben Gurion University, Harvard and MIT find apparent link between the condition and abnormal levels of fats in blood
Israeli and American scientists may have discovered a tell-tale sign of autism after a huge data crunch showed that some had abnormal levels of fats in the blood.
The findings are detailed this week in the Nature Medicine journal after work from the joint team of biomedical informaticians at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev, Harvard, MIT, Northwestern and Boston Children’s Hospital.
They ran the numbers on vast amounts of genetic data concerning children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and discovered that about five percent also had dyslipidemia, or high cholesterol – a finding that may help future diagnosis.
It was already known that between five and 30 percent of children with ASD also suffer from epilepsy, and this new finding will aid clinicians in diagnosis, which is notoriously difficult from children aged 3-4 years.
Around 80 percent of ASD diagnoses are in boys, so the study, led by BGU’s Dr Alal Eran, narrowed down the data by focusing on genes that function together during early brain development in a different way between males and females. Researchers also looked at mutations shared between siblings of the same family.
“Biomedical informatics is a relatively new field whose advantages are becoming apparent,” said Eran. “
Analysis of large amounts of diverse data led us to this exciting discovery of a previously unrecognised ASD subtype. It brings us a step closer to precision medicine for ASD.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
