Autism can be diagnosed with 15-minute brain scan, study finds

A 15-minute brain scan identified adults with autism almost as effectively as conventional methods of diagnosis that rely on interviews with patients and their families, scientists said.

The scan detected more than 90 percent of the autistic patients who had been diagnosed using intelligence tests, psychiatric interviews, physical examinations and blood tests, according to a study by King's College London researchers published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Autism spectrum disorder, a lifelong and disabling condition caused by abnormal brain development, impairs a person's ability to communicate and interact with people. Diagnosis often relies on the accounts of patients' friends and relatives. The scan may alleviate the need for an emotional and time-consuming process of diagnosis, the researchers said.

"Our new method will help people with autism spectrum disorder to be diagnosed more quickly and cost effectively," Declan Murphy, the King's College London professor of psychiatry and brain maturation who led the research, said in a statement. "Most importantly, their diagnosis will be based on an objective 'biomarker' and not simply on the opinion of a clinician which is formed after an interview."

The researchers tested 59 men between the ages of 20 and 68. Twenty were healthy, 20 had autism and 19 had attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. The scientists used magnetic resonance imaging to take pictures of the brain, and assembled the pictures as three-dimensional images. A computer program assessed the images to determine the structure, shape and thickness of the brains, aiding diagnosis.

Further testing is needed to determine how the scan could help diagnose autism in children, said Christine Ecker of the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, who conducted the research.