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Swedish research could help detect autism in boys

Xinhua, April 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

A new way of detecting autism in young males may make the condition easier to discover and treat, according to Swedish research published on Wednesday.

Using brain imaging, researchers were able to produce a quantitive measure of activity of a brain circuit associated with social interaction, the University of Gothenburg said.

"We can now measure how well this circuit functions in individual patients," said Malin Bjornsdotter, assistant professor at the university's Sahlgrenska Academy.

She added that the measuring technique may help to determine whether a given treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is effective or not.

"The behavioral symptoms of ASD are so complex and varied that it is difficult to determine whether a new treatment is effective, especially within a realistic time frame," Bjornsdotter said.

The study, published on Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, detected ASD by monitoring brain activity in social perception circuits of the brain, but only in boys, the university said.

Its findings will help treat autism patients by "indicating whether behavioral, drug or a combination of the treatments will be most effective," the university wrote. Endit