A review of autism and the environment

October 2, 2008

Entrez PubMed Results

Item 1 of 1

1: Pediatrics. 2008 Jun;121(6):1225-9. LinkOut

Autism and the environment: challenges and opportunities for

research.

Altevogt

BM, Hanson

SL, Leshner

AI.

Institute of Medicine, Forum on Neuroscience

and Nervous System Disorders, 500 Fifth St, NW, Washington, DC 20001,

USA. baltevogt@...

Autism spectrum disorder is a complex

developmental disorder that dramatically affects the lives of patients

and their families and the broader community. The causes of autism are

unknown; however, evidence increasingly suggests that a complex

interplay among environmental stressors, genetic mutations, and other

biological factors likely plays a significant role in the development

and/or progression of autism spectrum disorder. On April 18 and 19,

2007, the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous

System Disorders hosted a workshop to provide a venue to bring together

scientists; major sponsors of autism-related research; and members of

the autism patient, family, and advocacy community to discuss the most

promising and urgent scientific questions and opportunities. Broad

participation by the autism community enriched the meeting

significantly by contributing a valuable and personal perspective that

is often missing from scientific meetings. It also began a much

improved public-private partnership in which all stakeholders are

represented. On the basis of the presentations and the discussions that

followed, an array of important scientific opportunities were

identified in 5 general categories: (1) opportunities to advance

clinical research; (2) opportunities to enhance epidemiologic studies;

(3) opportunities to improve the understanding of autism's pathology

and etiology; (4) tools and infrastructure needs; and (5) opportunities

for public-private partnerships. This workshop demonstrated that full

public engagement can greatly enhance activities such as this workshop

and its outcomes. Furthermore, we expect that this listing of

scientific challenges, needs, and opportunities will help to frame a

more comprehensive research agenda.

PMID: 18519493 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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