New research in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that the disorders that cause autism may begin before birth.
Researchers from the University of California in San Diego and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle (USA) conducted a postmortem analysis of the brain tissue of 22 children aged 2 to 15 years. Some of them suffered from autism. The connections and the structure of the layers in the cerebral cortex were checked using genetic markers.
In 90 percent In autistic children, these tests led to the detection of patch-like areas of abnormality. They were found in parts of the brain responsible for social behavior, language, and emotions. In healthy children, such lesions appeared only in 10%. cases.
The analyzes show that changes occur even before birth, which suggests that autism spectrum disorders develop in utero. According to the authors of the research, better knowledge of the nature of the disease may help in its treatment, and in particular, enable very early detection. They believe that the focal nature of the lesions explains why early treatment can bring significant improvement in some children. The smaller the child, the more plastic his brain behaves – it has a greater ability to repair itself. (PAP)