New test uses MRI to determine ASD diagnosis

By Staff Writer

Researchers have developed a new test that changes the way autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are diagnosed. ASDs are currently diagnosed through a symptom-based test, in which a health-care provider observes a patient for the characteristics outlined in the psychology reference book The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV, MSNBC reports.

The new test is based on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screen. In its trials, the system was able to distinguish between people who have autism and those who do not by changes in their brains. However, the findings were preliminary. Researchers tried out this method of diagnosis on only two groups of patients, both of which consisted of males with high-functioning autism.

This test brings the potential for younger people to have their autism diagnosed earlier, according to study researcher Nicholas Lange, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Neurostatistics Laboratory at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that an average of one in 110 children in the U.S. have an ASD.