"Baby Teeth Give Clues To Autism’s Origins, Detection" - Steven Reinberg
A close examination of baby teeth is giving new insight into the roots of autism – and ways to spot it early. The research suggests that the way infants metabolize two nutrients – zinc and copper – may predict who will develop the condition. "We have identified cycles in nutrient metabolism that are apparently critical to healthy neurodevelopment, and are dysregulated in autism spectrum disorder," said one of the study's lead authors, Paul Curtin, PhD, assistant professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His team has also "developed algorithms which can predict whether a child will develop autism or not, based on measures derived from these metabolic cycles," said Dr. Curtin. This study is the first to find a marker that can predict the risk for autism with 90 percent accuracy, the research team said, and may point to a possible new way of diagnosing autism.
- Paul Curtin, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Manish Arora, BDS, MPH, PhD, Edith J. Baerwald Professor, Vice Chairman, Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Chris Gennings, PhD, Research Professor, Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Director, Division of Biostatistics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Christine Austin, Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Austen Curtin, PhD, Data Analyst, Mount Sinai Health System
Additional coverage:
Crain’s Health Pulse (Subscription required)
Politico New York
CBS-AM Radio No web link available
WebMD
Medical Xpress
U.S. News & World Report
Drugs.com
Doctors Lounge
News Medical & Life Sciences
Newsweek
MSN
UPI