Could a �sniff test� lead to early autism diagnosis?

A new study published in the journal Current Biology has identified differences in the way people with autism respond to smells, suggesting a "sniff test" could be used for early diagnosis of the condition. Think of a pleasant smell - a bunch of flowers, for example. You would likely take a big sniff in order to inhale the floral aroma. When it comes to bad smell, however, you would restrict the airflow in your nose to avoid inhaling it.
Study author Noam Sobel, of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and colleagues found that children with autism are unable to make such adjustments - they sniff the same way regardless of whether they are presented with good or bad odors.
In the US, around 1 in 68 children have been diagnosed with autism, the majority of whom are boys. The condition is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the country.  At present, there is no medical test for autism. It is most commonly diagnosed via developmental screening, where a doctor assesses how a child moves, speaks, learns and behaves in order to determine whether there are any delays in these areas.
But Sobel and colleagues say they may have uncovered a marker for autism, paving the way for a medical test for the condition.
In addition, they found that the more abnormal the sniffing response among children with autism, the more severe their social symptoms of autism were. "We propose that the altered IAM that is the sniff response leads to altered olfaction, which contributes to impaired social communication," say the authors.
While the researchers note that further studies are needed to confirm their findings, their study opens to door to a sniff test that could be useful for early autism diagnosis.
Sobel adds: "We can identify autism and its severity with meaningful accuracy within less than 10 minutes using a test that is completely nonverbal and entails no task to follow.”
    MNT

Could a �sniff test� lead to early autism diagnosis?

A new study published in the journal Current Biology has identified differences in the way people with autism respond to smells, suggesting a sniff test could be used for early diagnosis of the condition. Think of a pleasant smell - a bunch of flowers, for example. You would likely take a big sniff in order to inhale the floral aroma. When it comes to bad smell, however, you would restrict the airflow in your nose to avoid inhaling it. Study author Noam Sobel, of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and colleagues found that children with autism are unable to make such adjustments - they sniff the same way regardless of whether they are presented with good or bad odors. In the US, around 1 in 68 children have been diagnosed with autism, the majority of whom are boys. The condition is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the country. At present, there is no medical test for autism. It is most commonly diagnosed via developmental screening, where a doctor assesses how a child moves, speaks, learns and behaves in order to determine whether there are any delays in these areas. But Sobel and colleagues say they may have uncovered a marker for autism, paving the way for a medical test for the condition. In addition, they found that the more abnormal the sniffing response among children with autism, the more severe their social symptoms of autism were. We propose that the altered IAM that is the sniff response leads to altered olfaction, which contributes to impaired social communication, say the authors. While the researchers note that further studies are needed to confirm their findings, their study opens to door to a sniff test that could be useful for early autism diagnosis. Sobel adds: We can identify autism and its severity with meaningful accuracy within less than 10 minutes using a test that is completely nonverbal and entails no task to follow. MNT