Identification and validation of biomarkers for autism spectrum disorders
Date
2016Author
Loth, EvaSpooren, Will
Ham, Lindsay M.
Isaac, Maria B.
Auriche-Benichou, Caroline
Banaschewski, Tobias
Baron-Cohen,Simon
Broich, Karl
Boelte, Sven
Bourgeron, Thomas
Charman, Tony
Collier, David
de Andres-Trelles, Fernando
Durston, Sarah
Ecker, Christine
Elferink, Andre
Haberkamp, Marion
Hemmings, Robert
Johnson, Mark H.
Jones, Emily J. H.
Khwaja, Omar S.
Lenton, Sabine
Mason, Luke
Mantua, Valentina
Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas
Lombardo,Michael V.
O'Dwyer, Laurence
Okamoto, Koichi
Pandina, Gahan J.
Pani, Luca
Persico, Antonio M.
Simonoff, Emily
Tauscher-Wisniewski, Sitra
Llinares-Garcia, Jordi
Vamvakas, Spiros
Williams,Steven C. R.
Buitelaar, Jan K.
Murphy,Declan G. M.
ISSN
1474-1776Source
Nature Reviews Drug DiscoveryVolume
15Issue
1Pages
70-73Google Scholar check
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders, but effective medical treatments for the core symptoms of the disorder are still lacking. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), the core symptoms of ASD comprise deficits in social communication and interaction, and repetitive and restricted behaviours, which include sensory abnormalities. Novel genetic and preclinical approaches now provide unprecedented opportunities to identify the underpinning pathophysiological mechanisms and aetiology-based treatment targets, as discussed in a Review article by Ghosh et al. (Drug discovery for autism spectrum disorder: challenges and opportunities. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 12, 777–790 (2013)1. This has led to more interest from the pharmaceutical industry in an area in which the overall risk of failure is seen as very high because key parameters of drug efficiency are not yet established and the regulatory environment is uncertain. For example, industry has recently invested in several pre-competitive projects, such as the European Union (EU) Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)-brokered public–private partnership EU-AIMS (European Autism Interventions — A Multicentre Study for Developing New Medications)2.