Autism BrainNet: A Collaboration Between Medical Examiners, Pathologists, Researchers, and Families to Advance the Understanding and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder
- PMID: 32960953
- DOI: 10.5858/arpa.2020-0164-RA
Autism BrainNet: A Collaboration Between Medical Examiners, Pathologists, Researchers, and Families to Advance the Understanding and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Abstract
Context.—: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects over 1% of the population worldwide. Developing effective preventions and treatments for autism will depend on understanding the neuropathology of the disorder. While evidence from magnetic resonance imaging indicates altered development of the autistic brain, it lacks the resolution needed to identify the cellular and molecular underpinnings of the disorder. Postmortem studies of human brain tissue currently represent the only viable option to pursuing these critical studies. Historically, the availability of autism brain tissue has been extremely limited.
Objective.—: To overcome this limitation, Autism BrainNet, funded by the Simons Foundation, was formed as a network of brain collection sites that work in a coordinated fashion to develop a library of human postmortem brain tissues for distribution to researchers worldwide. Autism BrainNet has collection sites (or Nodes) in California, Texas, and Massachusetts; affiliated, international Nodes are located in Oxford, England and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Data sources.—: Pubmed, Autism BrainNet.
Conclusions.—: Because the death of autistic individuals is often because of an accident, drowning, suicide, or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, they often are seen in a medical examiner's or coroner's office. Yet, autism is rarely considered when evaluating the cause of death. Advances in our understanding of chronic traumatic encephalopathy have occurred because medical examiners and neuropathologists questioned whether a pathologic change might exist in individuals who played contact sports and later developed severe behavioral problems. This article highlights the potential for equally significant breakthroughs in autism arising from the proactive efforts of medical examiners, pathologists, and coroners in partnership with Autism BrainNet.
© 2021 College of American Pathologists.
Similar articles
-
Autism BrainNet: A network of postmortem brain banks established to facilitate autism research.Handb Clin Neurol. 2018;150:31-39. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-63639-3.00003-7. Handb Clin Neurol. 2018. PMID: 29496150 Review.
-
[The coroner's autopsies in the Great Britain: the problems related to the quality of the studies, standardization, auditing, financial support and the approaches to their solution].Sud Med Ekspert. 2017;60(3):57-63. doi: 10.17116/sudmed201760357-63. Sud Med Ekspert. 2017. PMID: 28656956 Russian.
-
The genetics of autism.Pediatrics. 2004 May;113(5):e472-86. doi: 10.1542/peds.113.5.e472. Pediatrics. 2004. PMID: 15121991 Review.
-
Her Majesty's coroners and home office forensic pathologists perception of the nurses' role in the coroner's enquiry.Int J Nurs Stud. 2000 Aug;37(4):351-9. doi: 10.1016/s0020-7489(00)00014-6. Int J Nurs Stud. 2000. PMID: 10760542
-
Influence of coroners' officers and pathologists on suicide verdicts.Br J Psychiatry. 1976 May;128:471-4. doi: 10.1192/bjp.128.5.471. Br J Psychiatry. 1976. PMID: 1276551
Cited by
-
Candidate diagnostic biomarkers for neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents: a systematic review.World Psychiatry. 2023 Feb;22(1):129-149. doi: 10.1002/wps.21037. World Psychiatry. 2023. PMID: 36640395 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical