Autism diagnosis breakthrough using brain scans

Posted by | Aug 11, 2010 | Filed under UK
Autism diagnosis breakthrough using brain scans

There has been a breakthrough in the field of diagnosing autism with news of a new test developed by British scientists using a form of brain scan. At present getting a diagnosis of autism is time consuming and complex involving tests which look into behaviour. This new form of diagnosis can take only 15 minutes by comparison.

Trials on adults have already taken place and have been shown to give a 90% accuracy of diagnosis. The scans take a short amount of time and cost between £100 and £200. Current methods of diagnosis involve tests which often take a whole day, involve a team of people and costs around £2000, according to Adam Arnold on Sky News. Delays in diagnosis often mean children and adults with forms of autism wait too long to receive the help they need and with over 500,000 people in Britain alone with autism spectrum disorders, that means a lot of people not getting immediate support.

It’s perceived that the new test will be commonplace in as little as 2 years and one day may replace other diagnostic tests completely. Scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College in London, have worked on the test which involves an MRI scan analysed by computer software. Autism properties are then actually visible in the structures of different areas of the brain. People with autism are affected in many varying ways but common features include difficulties with communication, problems with social interaction and repetitive behaviour.

Scientists think that the test may work even better with children and Dr. Christine Ecker, a member of the Institute of Psychiatry team that has worked on the development said, “The value of this rapid and accurate tool to diagnose ASD is immense. We now look forward to testing if our methods can also help children.”

For more on this go to Sky News. What do you think of this new method of diagnosing autism? Do you think it could help people with ASD’s to see that there is a physical difference in the brain? We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this so please do send in your comments.

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  • Jannine Mulvaney

    This is a brillant breakthrough for autism sufferers and families. It can cut down the waiting time for diagnosis and get autistic people the help they need faster and with an accurate diagnosis. The next step should be to assess where on the spectrum that person is in order to meet individual needs. My son has been diagnosed with childhood autism at the age of 3 and as parents we are in the dark as to whether he will ever be an independant adult. This is very worrying.

  • jenstate

    The earlier we recognize the signs, the earlier we can begin to intervene. If one of those signs is a brain difference recognizable through MRI, then that is a great first step in early diagnosis and intervention. If you read what the Brain Balance website has to say, there is much evidence that the brain can be changed and the underlying communication issue improved to reduce or eliminate the symptoms. I love their website's explanation of functional disconnection syndrome. You can read about it at http://www.brainbalancecenters.com .

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