Increased cerebrospinal fluid could be used as biomarker for autism

Written by Frances Adlam

A collaborative group of researchers from the University of California Davis MIND Institute (CA, USA), University of North Carolina (NC, USA) and other institutions has discovered that increased extra-axial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), in high-risk infants, could be associated with an increased risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With further research, the results from this study – recently published in Biological Psychiatry – could help towards identifying early biomarkers for autism. CSF has long been thought of as a shock absorber to prevent the brain colliding with the skull. However, newer studies have demonstrated CSF’s other roles in neuronal...

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