The immune system is critically involved in autism. Of course, there are still a lot of questions to answer, particularly whether dysregulation of the immune system is the cause or a consequence of autism among others. But it is not studied enough. This week’s podcast includes new studies that examine the role of the immune … Continue reading "The Immune Taboo"

You may have heard terms in early intervention like “NDBI” or “Early Start Denver Model” and wondered if there was a difference in efficacy behind all these flavors of toddler interventions. On this week’s podcast, we speak to Dr. Giacomo Vivanti from @DrexelAutism, who combined data from 4 of these interventions across 700 children to … Continue reading "The different flavors of early intervention"

This week, a new study suggests a causal link not between Tylenol, but to COVID, which can cause a fever. There is clearly more research needed, but the findings are consistent with research on the link between maternal illness and autism. Also, it’s well known that genetics plays a role in how symptoms of autism … Continue reading "Can COVID cause autism?"

Two pediatricians, a child neurologist and a child psychiatrist walk into the ASF weekly science podcast to discuss the safety, efficacy and appropriateness of leucovorin, the drug that the HHS is fast tracking through the FDA approval process. Does it work? Is it safe? What should I do or know when I talk to my … Continue reading "A lesson on leucovorin"

The National Institutes of Health just awarded $50million to 13 different research sites to better understand genetic and environmental contributions to an autism diagnosis, or increase in prevalence in autism, as well as environmental factors which improve the quality of life for children and adults with ASD. You can read about them here or listen … Continue reading "Have you heard the good news?"

In an effort to better understand the causes of autism in those with a known genetic variant associated with ASD or other developmental disorders, in 2010, the Simons Foundation launched Simons VIP, now known as  Simons Searchlight – an online international research program studying nearly 200 rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders and working with over 60 patient … Continue reading "Happy Birthday Simons Searchlight!"

This week the @WSJ reported that the upcoming MAHA report will include acetaminophen (also known as Tylenol in the United States, although it is used all over the world) use during pregnancy as a cause of autism. Acetaminophen is used in about 7.5 % of pregnant women. This is one of many environmental exposures that … Continue reading "Let’s Talk Tylenol"

This week, Drs. Casey Burrows from @UMN and Shuting Zheng from @UTexas discuss a new paper looking at sex differences in autism features from 20-40 months of age. A new analysis done with data from the Baby Siblings Research Consortium concludes that, early in life, girls with autism show differences in some autism features (like … Continue reading "This one’s for the girls"

As the autistic brain ages, is it more vulnerable to other brain disorders? Recent scientific discoveries in Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease show that there may be an underlying mechanism between these diseases and autism. However diagnosing someone with autism with an additional brain disorder, especially dementia, can be difficult. This week’s podcast covers the … Continue reading "Autism and diseases of the aging brain"

This week’s podcast includes summaries from two new scientific studies (with comments from one of the studies’ authors @SimonsFoundation and @princetonPPH) about that tackle grouping and labeling the differences across the spectrum into meaningful subtypes. Both provide scientific evidence, including behavioral and biological data, that support the use of different labels. This is more evidence … Continue reading "What labels should be used to describe autism?"