Brain Imaging Not Sufficient to Diagnose Autism

Recent studies indicate that one in 88 children in the U.S. suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder. The prevalence of ASD has increased 78 percent in the last decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Autism is a complex neurodevelopment disorder that manifests in early childhood and is characterized by impaired social interactions, repetitive behaviour and communication problems.. Health care providers think of autism as a "spectrum" disorder, a group of disorders with similar features.

Till date, brain imaging technique was being used to understand autism. But McLean Hospital biostatistician and associate professor at Harvard Medical School , Nicholas Lange, ScD, cautions against the use of brain imaging scans to diagnose autism and lays emphasis on greater focus on conducting large, long-term multicenter studies to identify the biological basis of the disorder.

"Several studies in the past two years have claimed that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this assertion is deeply flawed," said Lange. "To diagnose autism reliably, we need to better understand what goes awry in people with the disorder. Until its solid biological basis is found, any attempt to use brain imaging to diagnose autism will be futile."

Researchers have made important discoveries related to early brain enlargement in the disorder with the use of various imaging techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and volumetric MRI. They have also studied how those with autism focus during social interaction and the role of serotonin in someone with autism.

"Brain scans have led to these extremely valuable advances, and, with each discovery, we are getting closer to solving the autism pathology puzzle," said Lange. "What individuals with autism and their parents urgently need is for us to carry out large-scale studies that lead us to find reliable, sensitive and specific biological markers of autism with high predictive value that allow clinicians to identify interventions that will improve the lives of people with the disorder," he added.

This study appears in the current issue of the journal Nature.