A routine prenatal ultrasound can identify early signs of autism, study
finds

Date:
February 9, 2022
Source:
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Summary:
A routine prenatal ultrasound in the second trimester can identify
early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a new study has
found.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A routine prenatal ultrasound in the second trimester can identify
early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a new study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka Medical Center has found.


========================================================================== Researchers from the Azrieli National Centre for Autism and
Neurodevelopment Research published their findings recently in the peer-reviewed journal Brain.

The researchers examined data from hundreds of prenatal ultrasound scans
from the fetal anatomy survey conducted during mid-gestation. They found anomalies in the heart, kidneys, and head in 30% of fetuses who later
developed ASD, a three times higher rate than was found in typically
developing fetuses from the general population and twice as high as
their typically developing siblings.

Anomalies were detected more often in girls than in boys and the severity
of the anomalies was also linked to the subsequent severity of ASD.

This study and others will be discussed at the Israeli Meeting for Autism Research to be held February 15-16 at BGU.

Prof. Idan Menashe, a member of the Centre and the Department of Public
Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences, led the research with his
MD/PhD student Ohad Regev.

"Doctors can use these signs, discernable during a routine ultrasound,
to evaluate the probability of the child being born with ASD," says
Prof. Menashe, "Previous studies have shown that children born with
congenital diseases, primarily those involving the heart and kidneys,
had a higher chance of developing ASD. Our findings suggest that certain
types of ASD that involve other organ anomalies, begin and can be detected
in utero." A previous study of the Centre found early diagnosis and
treatment increased social ability by three times as much. Prenatal
diagnosis could mean a course of treatment from birth instead of waiting
until age 2 or 3 or even later.

The study was conducted as part of Ohad Regev's doctoral thesis, advised
by Prof. Idan Menashe and Prof. Reli Hershkovitz. Additional researchers
from Ben- Gurion University and Soroka Medical Center included: Dr. Amnon Hadar, Dr. Gal Meiri, Dr. Hagit Flusser, Dr. Analya Michaelovski, and
Prof. Ilan Dinstein.

This study was supported by a grant from the Israel Science Foundation
(No.

1092/21) and made use of the National Autism Database supported by
the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, and the Azrieli
Foundation.

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style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ohad Regev, Amnon Hadar, Gal Meiri, Hagit Flusser, Analya
Michaelovski,
Ilan Dinstein, Reli Hershkovitz, Idan Menashe. Association
between ultrasonography foetal anomalies and autism spectrum
disorder. Brain, 2022; DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac008 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220209112107.htm

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