Fast brain growth during infancy linked to autism

According to recent research, faster than normal brain growth in the first year of life may signal a risk of autism. This dramatic brain growth in early life is the first active neuro-developmental process to be discovered in infants with autism. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego conducted a study based on a review of medical records from 48 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which includes autistic disorder and pervasive developmental disorder. Head circumference measurements were available for all of the children at birth and for many of the children at several points during infancy.The researchers found that ASD patients had significantly smaller head circumference at birth than did normal children. However, between 1 to 2 months and 6 to 14 months of age, ASD patients experienced a sudden and excessive increase in head circumference. Among ASD patients, the brain overgrowth was more pronounced in children with autistic disorder than in those with pervasive developmental disorder.

Using the findings as an early indicator of autism, intervention might begin 2 or 3 years earlier when the brain might be at a more malleable stage and so, might result in a better outcome for the child. However, it is still too early to conclude that accelerated head growth is a "universal feature of autism." Larger studies are needed to confirm the findings.