Early Detection of Baby Brain Reduce Impact of Autism

Scientists say they have new evidence that autism starts in the womb. Incomplete development of the brain long before the birth of a baby is likely to cause the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This finding raises hopes for a better understanding of the brain that can improve the lives of children with autism. The research team at the University of California say the findings reinforce the need for early identification and intervention in autism.

In that study, American scientists analyzed the brain tissue after death of 22 children with and without autism aged between 2-15 years. They used genetic markers to see how the outer portion of the brain, the cortex and the other layers of the brain.



Abnormality was found in 90 percent of children with autism, compared with only about 10 percent of children without autism. Abnormalities are found in brain regions involved in social communication and emotional, as well as language, long before the birth of the child.

The researchers from the University of California, San Diego and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, said defective brain structures such as the patchwork might explain why some infants with autism show signs of improvement if treated early. Elastic baby's brain may have a chance to roll their own as compensation.

"The finding that these imperfections occur in pieces than whole cortex offers hope and insight into the nature of autism," said Eric Courchesne, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Diego.

Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said that if a new report on irregular structures in the brain of some children with autism is replicated, it can be said the occurrence of autism begins long before birth.

Carol Povey, Director of the National Autistic Society's Centre for Autism, said the study opens insights into a complex disorder and often misunderstood.

"A better understanding of early brain development to children with autism can help us find new ways and more effective to support people living with autism. Approximately 700,000 people live with this condition in the UK," he said.

According to him, autism can have a profound impact and destroy life but the right support can make a big difference.

source : bbcindonesia.com