What Research Is Being Done On Aspergers Syndrome?

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is one of the federal government’s leading supporters of biomedical research on brain and nervous system disorders.  The NINDS conducts research in its laboratories at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland , and awards grants to support research at universities and other facilities.  Many of the Institutes at the NIH, including the NINDS, are sponsoring research to understand what causes AS and how it can be effectively treated.

One study is using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show how abnormalities in particular areas of the brain cause changes in brain function that result in the symptoms of AS and other ASDs.  Another large-scale study is comparing neuropsychological and psychiatric assessments of children with possible diagnoses of AS or HFA to those of their parents and siblings to see if there are patterns of symptoms that link AS and HFA to specific neuropsychological profiles.

NINDS is also supporting a long-range international study that brings together investigators to collect and analyze DNA samples from children with AS and HFA, as well as their families, to identify associated genes and how they interact.  Called the Autism Genome Project, it’s a consortium of scientists from universities, academic centers, and institutions around the world that functions as a repository for genetic data so that researchers can look for the genetic “building blocks” of AS and the other ASDs.

Since there are so many different forms of ASD, understanding the genetic basis of each opens the door to opportunities for more precise diagnosis and treatment. Knowing the genetic profile of a particular disorder could mean early identification of those at risk, and early intervention when treatments and therapies are likely to be the most successful.