Study: Autism and Schizophrenia Develop During Short Period in Infancy

Genes connected to the two disorders may only be active for a brief window of time.The study, while in mice, could provide clues about how the developmental disorders develop. Focusing on a region of the brain known as the subplate, where the first nerve cells develop, researchers at the University of Oxford, King’s College London and Imperial College London found that genes linked to autism and schizophrenia were only active in these regions during early stages of brain development.

Father's Age Linked to Autism, Schizophrenia

Older men are more likely than young ones to father a child who develops autism or schizophrenia, because of random mutations that become more numerous with advancing paternal age, scientists reported on Wednesday, in the first study to quantify the effect as it builds each year. The age of mothers had no bearing on the risk for these disorders, the study found.

Study Finds Schiozophrenia-Autism Link

Families with a history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are also more likely to have a child with autism, new research from Sweden and Israel suggests.
Researchers found that kids whose parents or siblings had been diagnosed with schizophrenia were almost three times more likely to have an autism spectrum disorder, including autism and Asperger syndrome.