SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Major New Study to Seek Answers on Autism
from the Philadelphia Inquirer
In a bid to unravel the confounding mysteries of autism, researchers on Tuesday launched a comprehensive study to track families with an autistic child through another pregnancy, birth, and the following three years.
Hundreds of environmental factors - from diet to infection, pesticides and medications - will be examined for possible interplay with genetic makeup. Perhaps 100 children with autistic spectrum disorder will be born, researchers said, to the 1,200 women they hope to enroll at four study sites nationwide, including Philadelphia.
"These families know there is susceptibility, because they already have an affected child," said principal investigator Craig J. Newschaffer, a professor at the Drexel University School of Public Health, during a teleconference with reporters.
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