Researcher finds brain-size autism indicator

AM - Monday, November  11, 2002 8:12

LINDA MOTTRAM: An American researcher will today release important new findings in the battle against autism.

Professor Eric Corchesne, who's the Director of the Centre of Autism Research at San Diego's Children's Hospital, has for the first time found a link between the size of a baby's brain and the likelihood of autism and he'll detail the research today at a conference in Melbourne.

In Australia one in seven hundred people have autism and the new findings could help diagnose the condition by the age of one, enabling early intervention programs and possible drug treatment.

Philippa McDonald has been speaking to Professor Corchesne.

PHILIPPA McDONALD: For the past 60 years researchers have been searching for a link between brain pathology and autism. Now Professor Eric Corchesne's team at the Centre of Autism Research at San Diego's Children's Hospital think they may have the answers.

PROFESSOR ERIC CORCHESNE: And the month immediately following birth, the brain suddenly shows an explosive growth, rapid, huge, and in just about all autistic children that we've examined, and it puts the brain at a size far greater than normal by about 12 months of age.

So this has implication for when the disorder actually has its biological onset. As you know, most of the time autistic are diagnosed when they're two, three or four years of age, that's because everybody has to wait for their behavioural signs to appear and this is the first evidence of a biological defect that occurs before behavioural onset.

PHILIPPA McDONALD: Professor Corchesne studied people with autism between the ages of two and 42. Now in what may strike fear in the hearts of many parents, Professor Corchesne claims, by simply measuring a baby's head, doctors may be able to detect autism.

PROFESSOR ERIC CORCHESNE: All you have to do is measure the head circumference, at birth, at two months, four months, six months and twelve months and if you see a sudden explosive increase in size, then there's a baby that has high risk for autism.

PHILIPPA McDONALD: High risk for autism or do you see your research as being conclusive for autism?

PROFESSOR ERIC CORCHESNE: We don't know that just yet, it's a little bit too early to know, this is the first study, we would have to compare this to other disorders. Historically people have looked at other kinds of disorders that have, what are called, mackran-seflees, those are enlarged brains and the pattern that we're seeing is a bit different from the pattern in other kinds of mackran-seflees, so this migt turn out to be distinctive.

PHILIPPA McDONALD: It's research which is yet to be replicated, early detection opens up a range of possible treatments, perhaps eventually a cure.

PROFESSOR ERIC CORCHESNE: Probably, there'll be genetic factors, for example. It might be a pharmacological agent that would countermand the signals to overgrow.

PHILIPPA McDONALD: An estimated 25,000 Australians have been diagnosed with autism. And the President of the Autism Council of Australia, Dr Lawrence Bartak says early diagnosis could offer families hope, an opportunity to help their child before the symptoms of autism even show.

DR LAWRENCE BARTAK: If we could identify it we would able to institute the early intervention programmes that we normally do now, but do them earlier, so we would have a much better chance of substantial progress with the child.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Dr Lawrence Bartak, an autism expert.