Newly Awarded Autism Centers of Excellence to
Further Autism Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on April 1,
2008, the latest recipients of the Autism Centers of Excellence
(ACE) program. These grants will support studies covering a broad
range of autism research areas, including early brain development
and functioning, social interactions in infants, rare genetic variants
and mutations, associations between autism-related genes and physical
traits, possible environmental risk factors and biomarkers, and
a potential new medication treatment.
The ACE program encompasses research centers and research networks.
The research centers foster collaborations between teams of specialists
who share the same facility so that they can address a particular
research problem in depth. ACE networks consist of researchers
at many facilities in locations throughout the country, all of
whom work together on a single research question.
Autism (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-pervasive-developmental-disorders/index.shtml)is
a complex brain disorder involving communication and social difficulties
as well as repetitive behavior or narrow interests. Autism is often
grouped with similar disorders, all of which may be referred to
collectively as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The underlying
causes of ASD are unclear. Currently, there is no cure for the
disorders and treatments are limited.
"The ACE program provides the framework for considerable
gains in understanding the fundamental underpinnings of autism," said
Elias Zerhouni, M.D., Director of NIH. "By building on earlier
discoveries, the ACE centers and networks will shed light on important
risk factors and possibly even novel treatments."
The 2008 ACE program Center award recipient is:
- Ami Klin (Yale University): Researchers at
Yale propose to study early social interactions and development
and disruptions in these processes in children ages 12–24
months with ASD. The researchers also aim to identify rare genetic
variants that may be involved in ASD in this same group of young
children. Klin and colleagues will also use brain imaging tools
to study the structure and functioning of connections in the
brains of an additional group of 10-year old children with ASD
who have been followed since age 24 months in previous research
studies. Together, these projects will build upon existing research
on the behavioral, brain and molecular aspects of ASD, and may
lead to new discoveries on the causes and best treatments for
ASD.
The 2008 ACE program Network award recipients are:
- Diane Chugani (Wayne State University): Researchers
at this Network of sites will study the effects of using buspirone
(Buspar) in promoting more normal growth and development of the
brains of children with autism. Autistic children tend to have
abnormal levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin during important
periods of development. Buspirone helps stimulate serotonin production
and was shown in a pilot study by the Wayne State researchers
to improve social interaction, and reduce repetitive behavior
and sensory dysfunction and anxiety in children with autism.
Findings from these studies could provide an evidence base for
a new medication treatment for autism.
- Daniel Geschwind (University of California
Los Angeles): Researchers at this Network of sites propose to
add to their earlier collaborative efforts, which produced the
Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE). Specifically, they aim
to recruit 400 more families that have one child affected by
autism to expand the existing data on the relationship between
autism-related genes and physical traits (phenotype). Two hundred
of the additional families will be of African American descent
to determine whether African Americans share the same genetic
risk factors as identified in the primarily white European AGRE
sample. The researchers also intend to identify rare genetic
variants, mutations and abnormalities that affect a person's
risk for autism. Studying a large population lends greater reliability
to the genetic findings from this research and may be more applicable
to a wider range of children who have ASD.
- Craig Newschaffer (Drexel University): Researchers
at this Network of sites (including Children's Hospital of Philadelphia,
Johns Hopkins University, University of California Davis and
Kaiser Permanente Division of Research) will study possible risk
factors and biological indicators for ASD during the prenatal,
neonatal and early postnatal periods. The researchers aim to
follow 1,200 mothers of children with autism at the start of
a new pregnancy and document the development of their newborn
siblings through age three. This study, to be known as the Early
Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation (EARLI), will provide
a unique opportunity for studying possible autism environmental
risk factors and biomarkers during different developmental windows
as well as an opportunity to investigate the interplay of genetic
susceptibility and environmental exposure. A number of environmental
exposures, ranging from suspected neurotoxicants like persistent
organic pollutants to medications taken during pregnancy, could
potentially be investigated with data and samples collected in
EARLI. The study will also add considerably to current knowledge
of the natural history and progression of ASD.
These grant awards add to the five centers and two networks awarded
in 2007 (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/science-news/2007/nih-funds-new-program-to-investigate-causes-and-treatment-of-autism.shtml),
which include the ACE Network grant awarded to Sally Rogers (University
of California, Davis) late last year. To address the need for controlled
studies of treatments for autism in very young children, Rogers
and colleagues will compare an intensive behavioral intervention
to standard community-based treatment in 18-24-month-old children
with autism. Building on Rogers' previous research, this new research
will examine factors that can inform efforts to provide the best
treatment outcomes for very young children with autism.
The NIH Institutes providing funding and expertise for this effort
are the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute
of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Neurological
Disorders and Stroke, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development and National Institute on
Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) mission is to reduce
the burden of mental and behavioral disorders through research
on mind, brain, and behavior. More information is available at
the NIMH website (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/).
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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