Autism Diagnosis Breakthough

"A 15-minute brain scan could in future be used to test for autism, helping doctors diagnose the complex condition more cheaply and accurately.

British scientists said on Tuesday their rapid test had proved more than 90 percent accurate in adults and there was no reason why it should not work equally well in children.

It could be a boon for patients and their doctors by reducing reliance on time-consuming and emotionally trying assessments based on interviews and behavioral observation.

The new scanning method -- which picks up on structural changes in the brain's grey matter -- could be ready for general use in a couple of years. The next goal is to test it in children.

"What we are working on now is to see if we find the same results in younger people," research leader Declan Murphy, professor of psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, said in an interview."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6795I420100810