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The causes of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are complex, obtuse, and remain largely a mystery. Yet the rates of diagnoses are sky-rocketing: over the past 20 years they have jumped 400%, according to a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. While there is little consensus on the causes of ASDs (in fact, the debate is very heated and contentious), there is agreement that extensive study and research is required to better understand it. Here are some of the latest studies and developments in the autism arena.

• A study in the British Journal of Psychology measured fetal testosterone levels in 235 typically developing children, and later measured their number of autistic traits. The aim was to understand the basic mechanisms causing individual differences in autistic traits in an otherwise typical sample. The study found a correlation between levels of fetal testosterone and the number of autistic traits a child shows at the age of eight.

• UC Davis researchers report that California’s dramatic rise in autism cases cannot be blamed on population increases or early diagnoses. The incidence of autism in children 6 or younger increased from less than nine per 10,000 children born in California in 1990 to more than 44 in 10,000 children born in 2000. The study’s authors believe the cause is probably multiple genetic susceptibilities compounded by more than one environmental trigger. They advocate a nationwide shift in autism research to focus on potential factors in the environment that babies and fetuses are exposed to, including pesticides, viruses and chemicals in household products.

• In the largest study of its kind, researchers have shown that the risk of autism increases for firstborn children and children of older parents. The risk of a firstborn with an autism spectrum disorder triples after a mother turns 35 and a father reaches 40. Although the study was not designed to uncover the cause of the disorder, the findings suggest avenues of research to explore, including the role of environmental toxins.

• A study from Italy, to be published in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics, examined 1403 children ten years after they were exposed to two different amounts of the preservative thimerosal in their routine shots. Only one case of autism was found, and that was in the group that got the lower level of thimerosal. The study’s lead author asserted the findings dispute any connection between vaccines and autism.

• The University of Illinois (UIC) joins a large-scale autism study. Autism researchers established the Simons Simplex Complex (SSC), a project aimed at gathering a large amount of data for decoding the genetics of the disorder. Over the next three years, researchers intend to collect DNA samples from 2,000 families that have children with Autism. UIC researchers are contributing to this large collaboration and subjects around Chicago are now being recruited for the study.

* A study linking pre-term birth to autism found that very prematurely born babies are 2 to 3 times more likely to be diagnosed as autistic by the age of 2. Dr. Karl Kuban of Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, who led the study, said the increased risk for autism indicated in these children may not be directly caused by being born prematurely. "Instead, it is possible that whatever causes a child to have autism also may force an early birth", Kuban said. 

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