Have Scientists Just Cracked the Autism Code?

Once again, technology is stepping up to the plate to tackle a serious and debilitating medical condition.
One that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is diagnosed in 20 out of every 1,000 children in the United States – up from 11 in 1,000 in 2008.
We’re talking about autism – a neural development disorder that inhibits both verbal and non-verbal communication and, as a result, stunts social interaction and maturity.
It’s a notoriously tricky condition to fully diagnose, with the biggest clue coming from the fact that it’s heavily genetic. In fact, children with older family members who have autism are 20 times more likely to develop autism themselves.
As with every disease and condition, the key to better diagnosis – and, consequently, better treatment – is to identify the condition as early in life as possible.
The trouble is, signs of autism usually don’t fully manifest themselves until the child is a few years old.
But researchers at Emory University and the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta are changing that…

The Eyes Have ItThey’re using eye-tracking technology to screen babies for signs of autism in the first few months of their lives.
Specifically, they’re measuring the babies’ ability to respond to social cues when placed in a routine situation. For example, when watching videos.
In partnership with the Marcus Autism Center, the trials took two groups of babies. One group was at high risk of developing autism, while the other was low risk. Using the videos, the researchers monitored the babies’ progress in social development, interaction and attention span every couple of months.
As Warren Jones, Director of the Marcus Autism Center, explains, “We traced the way babies were looking at the world from the second month of life all the way to 24 months and even to 36 months when we confirmed the final outcome diagnosis for the children.”
And the result?

The Earliest Autism Diagnosis EverThe babies who were later diagnosed as autistic did indeed demonstrate a decline in their social awareness as early as the first two months of their lives.
Given that autism is typically diagnosed between four and five years old, suffice it to say, these findings are a significant improvement.
As Jones confirms, “What this study really shows us is that it’s possible to identify robust signs of social disability within the first months of life. And these are the earliest signs of autism ever identified.”
That early diagnosis is critical in then allowing doctors to get behavioral therapy and medication to the kids before they deteriorate.

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In new trials, scientists have used eye-tracking technology to monitor babies’ levels of social interaction and attention span in an effort to spot signs of autism earlier. Their results identified key markers at the earliest ever stage – a crucial breakthrough in diagnosing children earlier and getting them the essential therapy and medication they need faster.

Source: http://www.techandinnovationdaily.com/2014/01/01/autism-diagnosis-breakthrough/