Preventing Autism after Epilepsy

CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL BOSTON

Early-life seizures are known to be associated with autism, and studies indicate that about 40 percent of patients with autism also have epilepsy. A study from Boston Children’s Hospital finds a reason for the link, and suggests that an existing drug, already shown to be safe in children, could help prevent autism from developing in newborns who have seizures. Led by Frances Jensen, MD, in the Department of Neurology and the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, the study suggests that seizures over-activate a biochemical pathway previously linked to autism, known as the mTOR pathway, and that this alters the fast-forming circuitry in infants’ developing brains. Learn more at http://bit.ly/JXtyV4.