Autism: New analysis method of metabolites accurately predicts whether a child has autism

[Disir]

Scientists have developed a new, highly accurate method that analyzes metabolic biomarkers to assess whether a child is on the autism spectrum, according to a study published in PLOS Computational Biology.

Autism spectrum disorder affects about 1.5 percent of all children, but its exact cause remains unknown, and diagnosis requires a multidisciplinary team of doctors. Previous research has revealed certain differences in metabolic processes between children on the autism spectrum and neurotypical children. However, researchers have struggled to translate these differences into new diagnostic tools.

In the new study, Juergen Hahn and Daniel Howsmon of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, and colleagues present a method to identify a child as being on the autism spectrum based on concentrations of specific substances found in a blood sample. These substances are produced by metabolic processes known as the folate-dependent one-carbon (FOCM) metabolism and transulfuration (TS) pathways, both of which are altered in children with autism.

The scientists used blood sample data, collected at Arkansas Children'
s Hospital, from 83 children with autism and 76 neurotypical children, all between 3 and 10 years old. With the help of advanced modeling and statistical analysis tools, the metabolic data allowed the researchers to correctly classify 97.6 percent of the children with autism and 96.1 percent of the neurotypical children.

"The method presented in this work is the only one of its kind that can classify an individual as being on the autism spectrum or as being neurotypical," says study author Juergen Hahn. "We are not aware of any other method, using any type of biomarker that can do this, much less with the degree of accuracy that we see in our work."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170316141101.htm

This is going to be an interesting tool.

 

[The Great Goose]

Fake news!

 

[waltky]

Granny thinks Uncle Ferd is autistic `cause sometimes he stares off into space...

Study: No Rise in Autism in US in Past Three Years
January 02, 2018 — After more than a decade of steady increases in the rate of children diagnosed with autism in the United States, the rate has plateaued in the past three years, researchers said Tuesday.

The findings were based on a nationwide study in which more than 30,000 parents reported whether their children had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). "The estimated ASD prevalence was 2.41 percent among US children and adolescents in 2014-2016, with no statistically significant increase over the three years," said the research letter by experts at the University of Iowa, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The first observation of a plateau was made by a separate group in 2012, when the rate flattened out to 1.46 percent, according to the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. Federal health authorities say that means about one in 68 children in the United States have the neurodevelopmental disability, whose causes remain poorly understood.

Colleen Jankovich works with her 11-year-old autistic son, Matthew, in Omaha, Nebraska​

The ADDM had documented a "continuous increase from 0.67 percent in 2000 to 1.47 percent in 2010." The 2.4 percent rate described in the JAMA report translates to one in 47 children, but researchers cautioned that the discrepancy may be explained by "differences in study design and participant characteristics."

The JAMA report, based on the annual National Health Interview Survey, did not delve into "underlying causes for the findings and cannot make conclusions about their medical significance." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also noted a plateau in the autism rate in 2016, but said it was "too soon to know whether ASD prevalence in the United States might be starting to stabilize."

Study: No Rise in Autism in US in Past Three Years

 

[Likkmee]

Well. At least the boys can become LMD for the marine corps.
Vaccine away idiots !

 

[Likkmee]

OH. LMD is the current job of the grunt.
Land Mine Detector.
That's why they get sent in first marching yes sir....yes sir.....yes sir.. BOOM.
OK Rangers. You saw the line. Follow the next one to that divot and wait until he moves forward.

Funny how the jarheads always fuck with the swabbies.
Thank's for the ride boys, now well go fight.
Swabbie: (puts on ear phones---makes coffee). Have fun tigerz ! BOOOOOM