Clear anatomical brain differences in women with autism
OCTOBER 01, 2007
Dr Michael Craig at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's and colleagues have published results of a brain imaging study that shows differences in regional white and grey matter in the brains of women with autistic spectrum disorder compared to women controls who were also studied.
This is the first study of its kind to study women with autism as opposed to predominantly male only populations. The results also indicate that their brain anatomy abnormalities are similar to those seen in studies of males with this disorder. Although autistic spectrum disorders are more common in men this paper highlights the need to include women in future studies looking into the biological mechanisms underlying autistic spectrum disorders and in the development of new treatments.
Craig et al's paper 'Women with autistic-spectrum disorder: magnetic resonance imaging study of brain anatomy' has been published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, September 07 issue. Please refer to the journal for a copy of the paper.