According to a study, autism can be detected in the womb by analyzing brain scans of developing babies.
Harvard Medical School researchers studied ultrasounds of 39 babies before they were born.
According to the results, nine young people who were later diagnosed with autism had larger than normal islet lobes.
The brain area oversees social behavior and decision making, two things autistic people may struggle with.
The findings show that a larger islet lobe is a “strong” biomarker that can predict which children will later develop autism.
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital studied ultrasounds taken from 40 babies before they were born. In the photo: ultrasound of the brain of the unborn child (a and b); a modified view of the scan to remove other parts of the baby’s and mother’s body (c); brain scan (d) segmented by color to show different sections; 3D versions of the brain based on scan results
Scientists do not know exactly what causes autism, but sometimes children are transmitted from their parents.
And research shows it’s more common in babies of older parents, as well as mothers who are overweight or have complications during pregnancy.
Affected children may have trouble making eye contact, understanding how others are feeling, or being interested in certain topics. Teens with autism may also take longer to understand information or repeat things.
About one in 50 young people fall into this spectrum. However, at present, the diagnosis can be made as early as 18 months.
To diagnose a child, doctors ask parents about the child’s problems, see how they interact with others, and talk to family, friends, or teachers.
Early detection can help parents understand their children’s needs and support them at school.
Dr. Researchers led by Alpen Ortug retrospectively analyzed 39 fetal brain scans performed six months after conception.
Nine of the children were later diagnosed with autism, and 20 had no developmental problems.
The other ten youths also did not have autism, but there were other underlying conditions that common autistic participants had.
The team then segmented different parts of the brain in each scan to compare between different groups.
According to the results, children with autism had a “significantly larger” islet lobe than the other three groups.
This part of the brain is believed to play a vital role in perceptual awareness, social behavior and decision making.
Teens with autism had a larger amygdala (processing fear-related emotions and memories) and a hippocampal commissure (necessary for memory and learning) compared to children without autism.
The academics said their findings are linked to other recent research that has found differences in some of these parts of the brain in adults with autism.
Dr. Ortuğ said the “ideal thing” is to recognize the first signs of brain abnormalities in future autistic patients and to understand “the many genetic and environmental factors that may be behind this.”
“Early diagnosis means better treatment,” he said.
“To our knowledge, this is an attempt to semi-automatically segment brain regions in the prenatal period in patients subsequently diagnosed with autism and compare different control groups.”
The study will be presented today at the American Anatomical Society annual meeting in Philadelphia.
Source: Daily Mail
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