Autism may have subtypes that are genetically distinct from each other

The age at which children diagnose autism It seems that partially under the influence of their genetics, which can also affect how the condition develops.

“This really ensures the support of the idea that autism is actually potentially a lot of conditions,” says Natalie Survald At the Fleron Institute in New York, who did not participate in the study.

Autism is a condition for the development of nervous development, characterized by difficulties with social interactions, plus limited behavior and interests. World Health Organization assesses that about Each of 127 people autisticField

“The key question that interests us was: why are there some autists who diagnose later in life?” speaks Varun Varrier At the University of Cambridge.

To find out, he and his colleagues collected data about people who were diagnosed with autism aged 5 to 17 years. Their guardians filled the questionnaire about their social, emotional and behavioral development to help the team see if these factors were associated with their age in diagnosis.

The gender of the child, as well as their socio -economic status, was previously associated with age in diagnosis – with early diagnoses more often found among boys And Those who have rich experience – But the analysis of the team showed that these influences are actually quite weak. “None of the factors usually explain more than 10 percent of the dispersion,” says Warrier.

Instead, the team found evidence that children -auditists are developing along various trajectories. “We found that autists were grouped into two wide groups,” says Warrier. One group began to experience difficulties at the beginning of life, and they remained mostly constant. Another had fewer difficulties in early childhood, but experienced more in late childhood and early adolescence. This explained “from somewhere from 10 to 25 percent of the dispersion at the age of the diagnosis of autism,” he says.

In addition, the researchers found that these differences between these two groups were reflected in the DNA of the children that was previously collected. Those who were diagnosed later had a tendency to have a different set of general genetic options than those that were diagnosed earlier, which explains 11 percent of differences in the age of autism diagnoses. The team did not have the necessary data to search for rare options or those that arise spontaneously, and not hereditary.

Despite these two trajectories, there are no signs of hard separation between them, Sauerwald says. “You have a coincidence between groups, probably because they do not quite share,” she says. Varrier also describes them as existing “on a gradient.”

He emphasizes that none of the groups should be considered how to have a softer or more severe autism, which, as the study increasingly implies, takes several forms. In July, Sauerwald and her colleagues published a study in which they found Certificate of four moderately different groupsWith different symptoms, behavior and basic genetics.

The Warrir team also found that in children diagnosed later, they were more likely to have genetic options associated with other conditions, including ADHD and post -traumatic stress disorder. In the Sauerwald's study, her team discovered a similar relationship between the late diagnosis of autism and SDVGWhich, like autism, is a form of neurodium. Why this link exists unclear, says Sauerwald. “There is an amazing lack of data on ADHD,” she says, especially about the specific symptoms that people experience.

The best understanding of potential subtypes of autism can ultimately help improve diagnostic methods and lead to more individual support for children with autism and their families. “This can only lead to an improvement in the quality of life for people – when we can better understand their condition, and how to help them, and what exactly they need and what they do not need,” says Warrier.