Photo on Caleb Woods are Unsplash
A study led by Yale University shows that two different neurodevelopment abnormalities have been identified, both associated with the onset of autism
I study
Two distinct neurodevelopmental anomalieswhich arise a few weeks after the onset of brain formation, have been associated with the appearance of autism spectrum disorder. This was revealed by the study led by Yale Universitypublished in the magazine Nature Neuroscience. Researchers have developed brain organoids from the stem cells of boys diagnosed with the disorder.
The size of the brain
Furthermore, according to the scientists, the specific anomalies appear to be dictated by the size of the child’s brain. This discovery could help doctors and researchers diagnose and treat autism in the future. “It’s surprising that children with the same symptoms end up with two distinct forms of altered neural networks,” he said Flora VaccarinoHarris Professor of the Child Study Center at the Yale School of Medicine and co-author of the paper.
Research
Using stamina cellscollected from 13 kids diagnosed with autism, including eight kids with macrocephaly, a condition in which the head is enlarged, Yale researchers created brain organoids, which are small three-dimensional replicas of the developing brain, in a laboratory dish that mimic neuronal growth in the fetus. The team of scientists then compared the brain development of these children with autism to that of their fathers.
Who are the patients studied
I patients they were recruited from clinical colleagues at the Yale Child Study Center, which conducts research, services and education to improve understanding of the health issues of children and their families. Research has shown that, approximately 20% of autism cases involve individuals with macrocephalya condition in which a child’s head size is at or above the 90th percentile at birth.
The excitatory neurons
More serious cases of autism have been recorded among children affected by this pathology. Interestingly, the researchers found that children with autism and macrocephaly exhibited a overgrowth of excitatory neurons compared to their fathers, while the organoids of other children with autism showed a deficit of the same type of neurons. “The ability to track the growth of specific types of neurons could help doctors diagnose autism, whose symptoms typically appear 18 to 24 months after birth,” the authors said.
Prof. Vaccarino: “Stem cell biobanks for personalized medicine”
“The findings could also help identify cases of autism that could benefit from existing medications for improve symptoms of ailments, characterized by excessive excitatory activity of neurons, such as epilepsy,” Vaccarino said. “Autism patients with macrocephaly might benefit from such drugs, while those without enlarged brains might not benefit,” Vaccarino continued. There creation of stem cell biobanks derived from patients could be essential for tailoring therapies to specific individuals, or personalized medicine.
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