Autism research advancing, but more needed

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say scientific understanding of autism has advanced significantly, but much remains to be done.

Lead author Dr. Susan Levy of the Center for Autism Research at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia says the researchers summarized many new findings by autism experts throughout the world, and give our perspective on the current state of the science in autism spectrum disorders.

Included among the advances mentioned in the article, published online in the journal The Lancet, are increased knowledge of early brain development, earlier diagnosis and treatment and greater recognition of the important role of parental involvement.

However, more research is needed on methods for supporting families to reduce parental stress and in the area of how genes affect the development of brain cell interconnections.

A long history of family and twin studies finds autism spectrum disorders are the neuropsychiatric disorder most affected by genetic factors. The authors reviewed recent studies performed with the help of sophisticated gene-analyzing tools, and cite the finding earlier this year that a significant percentage of autism spectrum disorders patients have DNA alterations in a genetic area that affects how neurons interconnect in the brain.