Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Missed connections

Nature Medicine volume 17, pages 408–410 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

A surprising percentage of people with autism also suffer from seizures, but doctors have been baffled by this overlap for decades. Now, various groups of scientists have begun exploring how the same genetic risk factors and aberrations in nerve signaling in early brain development might underlie both these disorders. Marissa Miley reports on how solving this riddle could point to better treatments for epilepsy and autism.

Nearly seven decades later, scientists have learned much more about autism—and have also begun gleaning hints as to why it sometimes appears along with seizures. For starters, current epidemiological surveys have revealed that between 15% and 30% of people with autism also suffer from epilepsy to some degree.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Kanner, L. Nerv. Child 2, 217–250 (1943).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Rakhade, S. et al. J. Neurosci. 28, 7979–7990 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Khan, O.I., Zhao, Q., Miller, F. & Holmes, G.L. Neurobiol. Dis. 39, 362–371 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Spence, S. & Schneider, M. Pediatr. Res. 65, 599–606 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Hollander, E. et al. Neuropsychopharmacology 35, 990–998 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marissa Miley is an author and science writer based in New York.,

    Marissa Miley

Authors
  1. Marissa Miley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Miley, M. Missed connections. Nat Med 17, 408–410 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0411-408

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0411-408

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing