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.”
Keep community journalism free.
Jewish News is free for everyone. No paywall. No barriers. Just trusted journalism for anyone who wants to stay connected to Jewish life in Britain.
If you value that, please support us.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Every day, we report on the issues that matter to our community. We celebrate achievements, support charities, challenge antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are heard more widely.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help us continue to:
- Report on the stories shaping Jewish life in the UK and beyond
- Bring our community together through shared stories, events and campaigns
- Celebrate the people, culture and moments that define our community
- Support organisations doing vital work across Jewish Britain
You can make a one-off donation or become a regular supporter. Every contribution helps keep our journalism free, independent and accessible to all.
If everyone who values Jewish News gave a small amount, it would make a real difference to our future.
