Researchers from The Hospital for Sick Children have created mouse models related to autism. Nine novel models related to autism were produced in C57BL/6NCrl (B6N) mice using loss-of-function mouse lines with knockout of genes Katnal2, L2hgdh, Nexmif, Otc, Pah, Rab39b, Ranbp17, Upf3b and Ypel2.

Mdoloris Medical Systems SAS and Pprs SAS reported a joint venture to launch ANI Guardian, a connected medical device that continuously and non-invasively tracks pain levels and well-being in a range of non-verbal or cognitively impaired people.

Previous studies found that the neuronal loss of UBA6 led to decreased dendritic spine density and behavior dysfunction in murine models.

One way psychiatric disorders differ from neurological disorders is by the absence of anatomically defined neuropathology. “Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or stroke have a very clear picture of what cells are changing and how they're changing. The specific changes are very clear under a microscope, but in psychiatric diseases one hasn't been able to see that,” Daniel Geschwind told BioWorld.

One way psychiatric disorders differ from neurological disorders is by the absence of anatomically defined neuropathology. “Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or stroke have a very clear picture of what cells are changing and how they're changing. The specific changes are very clear under a microscope, but in psychiatric diseases one hasn't been able to see that,” Daniel Geschwind told BioWorld.

Genetic testing has the potential to identify infants and children with autism potentially years earlier than clinical assessments, improving response to therapies and long-term outcomes. Sema4 Holdings Corp. presented results of a study Oct. 13 at the Child Neurology Society Annual Meeting that showed exome sequencing improved the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders by up to 21% compared to current methods. At the same time, the research suggested that exome sequencing can identify children at risk of common comorbidities such as epilepsy, enabling more timely interventions.

Iama Therapeutics Srl has sought new, selective inhibitors of solute carrier family 12 member 2 (NKCC1) to treat autism, Down syndrome and brain disorders featuring chloride (NKCC1/solute carrier family 12 member 5 [KCC2]) imbalance.

Two large-scale studies provide new data on genes, inherited variations, and de novo mutations associated with autism spectrum disorder. Some of them are also associated with other neurological conditions, like developmental delay, or schizophrenia.

The U.S. FDA has granted clearance for Earlitec Diagnostics Inc.’s Earlipoint evaluation tool for the diagnosis and assessment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children aged 16-30 months. The eye-tracking technology utilizes Dynamic Quantification of Social-Visual Engagement (DQSVE), which captures a child’s moment-by-moment looking behavior. The clearance was based on positive results from two studies in which more than 500 children were enrolled.