A new discovery has been made by scientists. They have discovered that it is possible to know if a child is going to have autism even before the first symptom starts to show.
A child often shows signs of autism after two to four years. BBC has reported that it can now be detected even before that. Even before a parent thinks his or her child is not making eye contact, not smiling or is a bit odd, a magnetic resonance imaging or MRI scan can detect it in the brain.
A new research has suggested that evidence of autism can now be detected by it. A chemical reaction or some biological changes are happening in the brain and it can be detected before a child turns to one. Early test results can lead to autism being treated with therapies. Since the brain is still young and can acquire new things fast, it can, more or less, prevent the autism.
According to Scientific American, the study was published in "Nature" journal. In it, it stated the complete findings of the study led by Heather Hazlett, a psychologist at the University of North Carolina's Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD). The scientists have selected 150 children that have an autistic older sibling. They have conducted MRI scans to them at the age of six months old, one year old and two year old.
They found out that over 100 of the children have high possibility of autism. It has accurately calculated that eight children out of ten will have autism. The researchers have also found out that it was due to the speedy development of the surface areas of their brains.
"Enlargement of the brain seemed to correlate with the arrival of symptoms", said Heather Hazlett. "Still, with only 100 at-risk children, the study is not too small to be considered definitive- nor should doctors rush to use MRIs to diagnose autism", Hazlett added.
