Can we predict which children with TSC are more likely to develop autism?

A recently published study from the global EPISTOP study suggests that we can use developmental assessments of babies as young as six months old to predict which will go on to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

“Hopefully, a combination of different early clinical and molecular biomarkers will allow for reliably predicting ASD risk in the very early stages of infancy, paving the way for intervention trials combining an early intensive rehabilitation plan with targeted therapies with mTOR inhibitors, which may finally allow for disease-modifying intervention, altering the development of ASD symptoms during the critical phases of early development.”

Well done to Australian TSC clinical researcher Dr Kate Riney and her colleagues at Children’s Health Queensland for this publication. And of course, a huge thank you to all of the children and families who took part in this study.

To read the full study report click here.