News / Spectrum

Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome; excess CSF; autistic girls

Here is a roundup of autism-related news and research spotted around the web for the week of 21 October.

By Jill Adams
22 October 2024 | 2 min read
  • Autistic people with depression perceive themselves as having more autism traits and worse social interactions than clinician or objective ratings detect, according to a preprint. Research Square
  • Okur-Chung neurodevelopmental syndrome, which can resemble autism, is caused by variants of the CSNK2A1 gene, which encodes kinase CK2. Molecular Psychiatry
  • The volume of the parasagittal dura correlates closely with cerebrospinal fluid volume and with developmental delay severity. Spectrum has previously reported on excess cerebrospinal fluid as a possible marker for autism. Communications Medicine
Research image of four brain scans with green areas indicating Parasagittal dura volume.
Fluid dynamics: Parasagittal dura volume in the brain, seen here in green, may serve as a marker for autism.
  • People with rare recurrent copy number variants and high polygenic scores have elevated odds of autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia, according to a preprint. medRxiv
  • Various assessments of theory of mind have poorer internal consistency and test-retest reliability in people without a diagnosis of either autism or schizophrenia, according to a review article, thereby undermining the comparisons typically made between clinical and nonclinical populations. Spectrum recently covered discrepancies among theory of mind definitions and measurements. Neuropsychology Review
  • The increased likelihood of autism in children whose mothers experienced an infection during pregnancy is largely explained by family traits, according to a cohort study of nearly 3 million people in Taiwan. Spectrum reported on similar results found in a Swedish cohort. Molecular Psychiatry
  • Girls who display delayed milestones, such as toileting, or have more problems with thought and attention problems on the Child Behavioral Checklist are more likely to have a positive autism screen using the Social Communication Questionnaire. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

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