1. Autism spectrum disorder in children with spinal muscular atrophy type 1: Case series. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2026.

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2. Ali Moussa HY, Thomas R, Albatarni RH, Shin KC, Nour-Eldine W, Al-Shaban FA, Abdulla SA, Al-Shammari AR, Decock J, Park Y. Plasma Extracellular Vesicles (EVs)-Mediated Immune Dysregulation and Chronic Inflammation in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2026; 46(1).

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by repetitive behaviors, communication deficits, and frequent comorbidities. While both genetic and environmental factors contribute to ASD etiology, immune dysregulation has emerged as a potential environmental driver, suggesting a critical role of chronic inflammation in ASD pathophysiology. We previously demonstrated that ASD individuals display specific changes in plasma EV cargo which is associated with immune dysregulation. Here, we show that ASD EVs contain dysregulated cytokine profiles, including Gro-α/CXCL1, RANTES/CCL5, IFN-γ, stem cell growth factor beta (SCGF-β), and IL-15. Notably, ASD EVs enhance IFN-γ secretion from peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) in direct co-cultures, which can be reversed by treatment with the anti-inflammatory agent dexamethasone (Dex). Our findings suggest that ASD EVs contribute to chronic inflammation and highlight a potential therapeutic target for ASD intervention by mitigating ASD EV-induced chronic inflammation. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10571-026-01723-9.

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3. Alruwaili NS, Al-Kuraishy HM, Al-Gareeb AI, Shokr MM, Bogari NM, Alhelfawi S, Alruwaili M, El-Saber Batiha G. Common molecular signatures: the role of BDNF, melatonin, and orexin in the ASD-schizophrenia continuum. Mol Biol Rep. 2026; 53(1).

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4. Aviran SG, Nitzan T, Rozenblat S, Graucher T, Ophir S, Vaisman TM, Lifshits TM, Rum Y, Koller J. Autistic children and their parents during war – A mixed-methods study. Psychiatry Res. 2026; 361: 117163.

This mixed-methods study examined the psychological effects of war exposure on autistic and non-autistic children and their parents following the October 7th, 2023, terrorist attack and the ensuing Israel-Hamas War. Prior research shows that children exposed to war have elevated risk for post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), with autistic children being particularly vulnerable. In this study, 72 parents of children aged 3-17 (38 of autistic children, 34 of non-autistic children) completed standardized measures assessing child PTSS, parental PTSS, depression, anxiety, stress, and resilience. A subsample of 22 parents (12 of autistic children) also answered open-ended questions, which were analyzed qualitatively. Quantitative findings indicated that parents of autistic children reported significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSS than parents of non-autistic children. Similarly, autistic children showed higher PTSS than non-autistic children. In the full sample, parental PTSS and anxiety significantly predicted child PTSS. When analyzed separately, parental PTSS was the strongest predictor among families of autistic children, while parental stress predicted child PTSS in families of non-autistic children. Qualitative analysis identified four themes in parents’ and their children’s experiences: Difficulties, Coping Resources, Routine, and Functioning. Parents of autistic children emphasized their children’s behavioral regression, emotional distress, and reliance on routine and specialized support, while parents of non-autistic children described their own psychological challenges. These findings emphasize the unique vulnerabilities faced by autistic children and their parents in times of war and highlight the need for tailored mental health and community-based support that address the specific needs of those families.

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5. Deng YY, Zhong SS, Wang SH, Yin BY, Zhou X, Zou FY, Zhao JY, Ni YX, Luo XW, Shen LS, Zhang JL, Lin ZP, Zhou WY, Deng HZ, Guo RM. Ceruloplasmin deficiency drives a fusiform-centric lipid-myelin pathology underlying a visual subtype in autism. Mol Psychiatry. 2026.

Atypical visual processing (AVP) commonly occurs in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and contributes to social impairments, yet its neurobiological basis remains poorly characterized. To investigate potential lipid and myelin mechanisms, this study integrated multimodal MRI, quantifying lipid (proton density fat fraction) and myelin content (synthetic MRI) of 74 nuclei or brain regions, with serum profiling of iron, lead, and ceruloplasmin in 288 children, including 90 ASD with atypical visual processing (ASD‑AVP), 89 ASD without atypical visual processing (ASD‑AVP), and 109 typically developing (TD). The ASD-AVP subgroup exhibited a distinct co-pathology of elevated lipid and myelin centered on the fusiform gyrus (FG), accompanied by a unique positive lipid-myelin correlation (left: r = 0.47, right: r = 0.41). Serum analyses revealed decreased iron and ceruloplasmin and increased lead in ASD-AVP, and mediation analysis indicated that ceruloplasmin deficiency influences FG myelination via lipid pathways (35%-55%). Crucially, BTBR AVP-like mice recapitulated this phenotype with disorganized hypermyelination, whereas nAVP-like mice showed hypomyelination. A combined FG lipid-myelin signature strongly distinguished ASD-AVP from TD (AUC = 0.93) and ASD-nAVP (AUC = 0.87). Preliminary longitudinal follow-up in a subset of patients revealed that improvement in serum ceruloplasmin was associated with a reduction in FG lipid content and stabilization of myelin, paralleling clinical improvement. These findings identify a ceruloplasmin-driven, FG-centric lipid-myelin co-pathology, representing a maladaptive « inflammatory pseudo-compensation » mechanism specific to a visual ASD subtype, and offer novel biomarkers for biological subtyping and targeted interventions.

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6. Gao S, Lin Q, Liu X, Jia M, Zhang AY, Feng Z, Han L, Qiu N, Liu XX, Zhai H, Zhang H, Zhang J, Ding X, Zhang Y, Lu L, Shi J, Liu JJ, Wei YB. Mll5 haploinsufficiency attenuates microglial phagocytosis through dysregulated TREM2-SGK3-GSK3β signaling and recapitulates ASD-like behaviors in mice. Nat Commun. 2026.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and repetitive behaviors. Recent studies have indicated that heterozygous mutations in the mixed lineage leukemia 5 (MLL5) gene are implicated in ASD susceptibility and associated with neurodevelopmental abnormalities. However, the detailed mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that Mll5 haploinsufficiency in mice impairs microglial phagocytosis, drives neuronal hyperexcitability, and recapitulates core ASD-like behaviors. We also show that Mll5 acts as an epigenetic regulator, modulating microglial phagocytosis via the TREM2-SGK3-GSK3β signaling axis, which is associated with deficient glucose metabolism. Furthermore, microglia derived from individual with ASD exhibit parallel reductions in MLL5 expression and phagocytic function. By targeting this pathway, lithium chloride, a GSK3β inhibitor, rescues both microglial phagocytosis deficits and behavioral abnormalities in Mll5 haploinsufficienct mice. Our findings highlight MLL5’s critical role in ASD and its potential as a therapeutic target.

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7. Gupta C, Poudel A, Wang JY, Hagerman R, Espinal G, Famula J, Schneider A, Tassone F, Rivera SM, Chuah CN, Hessl D. Use of Machine Learning to Identify Markers of Risk for Fragile X-Associated Tremor/Ataxia Syndrome: A Preliminary Analysis. Ann Neurol. 2026.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine whether machine learning has the capacity to prospectively identify and predict the emergence of Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) among male fragile X premutation carriers (PCs). METHODS: We explored neuropsychological and motor evaluation metrics, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and health metrics in 103 male participants (72 PCs, mean = 60.4 years at enrollment) and 31 healthy controls (HCs; mean = 57.8 years at enrollment) across a total of 299 visits to identify optimal FXTAS risk markers. We compared different machine learning model and feature selection method combinations to identify the best features and models for (a) identifying patients with FXTAS and (b) for predicting which individuals were likely to later develop FXTAS in the study to date. Using an optimal set of features (including age, psychological symptoms, executive function and motor measures, IQ, body mass index (BMI), and structural brain measurements), we developed random forest binary classifiers for the 2 tasks. We split the dataset randomly into multiple different train and test splits and observed the average classification performance metrics across all the splits. RESULTS: The models showed promising ability to identify and pre-emptively predict the emergence of FXTAS and achieved a reasonable balance between precision and recall. Accumulation of body fat (BMI), executive function weaknesses, slower reaction time and dexterity, and mental health changes, are clinical factors that may significantly increase a carrier’s risk. Structural brain MRI measurements significantly added to the predictive power of the models. INTERPRETATION: These results suggest that machine learning has the potential to inform prediction of risk for FXTAS early, enabling better planning, timely interventions, and provision of necessary care. ANN NEUROL 2026.

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8. Lee A, Higgins S, O’Driscoll D, Mitchell JM, Walsh BH, O’Keeffe GW, Khashan AS, Maher GM. The Association Between Neonatal Jaundice and Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Findings From the Millennium Cohort Study. J Autism Dev Disord. 2026.

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9. Qu L, Yin T, Zeng J, Zhang Y, Han X, Liu M, Chang F, Yuan Y, Shan S, Zhao H, Liu Q. Multi-View Analysis of Facial Expressions in Minimally Verbal Autism: Preliminary Evidence From Social Communication Observations. J Autism Dev Disord. 2026.

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10. Schweitzer K. Leading Autism Experts, Advocates Form an Independent Committee in Response to Federal Shifts. Jama. 2026.

This Medical News article discusses the emergence of a new, research-focused independent autism group in the US following recent changes to the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. eng.

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11. Seytor LA, d’Arripe-Longueville F, Clément-Guillotin C. Does the Exerciser Stereotype Apply to Autistic Persons With Intellectual Disabilities? Influence of the Level of Sport Participation. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2026: 1-10.

This study examined whether information about sport participation influences stereotypes associated with autistic persons with intellectual disabilities, focusing on the warmth and competence dimensions of stereotype content and their facets. Participants (N = 325, Mage = 26.09), primarily students without self-reported disability, completed an online experiment using a between-subjects randomized design. Participants read a vignette describing an autistic person with intellectual disabilities, in which sport participation was manipulated (elite, recreational, or control). Participants then rated the target on perceived warmth and competence using 30-item scales including facet subscales. Results showed significant effects of sport participation on perceived competence: F(2, 322) = 52.66, p < .001, ηp2=.25. The elite athlete was perceived as more competent than both the recreational and control targets. The recreational athlete was rated higher that the control target. These findings suggest that sport participation may shape social perceptions of autism, although field studies are needed to examine real-world effects.

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12. Sukjamnong S, Saeliw T, Panjabud P, Thongkorn S, Kanlayaprasit S, Lertpeerapan P, Hu VW, Sarachana T. Prenatal bisphenol A exposure perturbs sex-dependent transcriptomic regionalization of autism-associated genes in the developing brain. Biol Direct. 2026.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in communication, social interaction, and behavioral regulation. Its etiology arises from a combination of genetic vulnerabilities and environmental influences. Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine-disrupting chemical found in plastic-containing materials, including micro- and nanoplastic pollutants. Recent studies have shown that prenatal BPA exposure can alter behavior and the expression of genes related to autism and neurodevelopment. METHODS: This study integrated and reanalyzed published RNA sequencing datasets from the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of rat offspring prenatally exposed to BPA through maternal intragastric administration during gestation to investigate the effects of prenatal BPA exposure on transcriptomic regionalization. Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to evaluate selected RNA-seq findings in individual, non-pooled biological samples. The associations between differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and ASD candidate genes were assessed via a hypergeometric distribution analysis. RESULTS: Prenatal BPA exposure was associated with altered transcriptomic profiles in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, together with sex-dependent changes in regional expression contrasts between these brain regions. Several ASD-relevant genes, including Msx2, Syncrip, Agtr2, and Myh9, showed altered regional expression patterns following prenatal BPA exposure. Genes showing altered regional expression contrasts after BPA exposure were annotated by IPA with functions, upstream regulators, and canonical pathways relevant to neurodevelopment and neurological disorders. Exploratory correlation analyses further identified region- and sex-dependent associations between disrupted regional gene-expression patterns and behavioral measures. CONCLUSIONS: This reanalysis suggests that prenatal BPA exposure is associated with altered regional transcriptomic patterning in the developing rat brain and identifies candidate genes and pathways for future mechanistic and replication studies.

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13. Tan Z, Zou X, Skorich DP, Deschrijver E. Discrimination in autism as measured by minimal group and sheer difference experiments. Br J Psychol. 2026.

Autistic individuals often show fewer social biases than neurotypical people. Whether they show fewer discriminatory tendencies is however unclear. The present study examined discriminatory tendencies in autistic versus neurotypical individuals in the minimal group paradigm and the novel ‘sheer difference’ paradigm. Seventy-five autistic and neurotypical participants were recruited for each group, totalling 150 participants. In the ‘sheer difference’ paradigm, participants received a coin toss outcome in each trial, after which they were tasked to assign points to a single other participant who had received the same versus a different coin flip outcome. In the minimal group paradigm, participants were assigned to a group based on coin flips, and then, they assigned points to members of their own group versus the other group. The ‘sheer difference’ paradigm contributes to the study’s aims by testing in autism whether discrimination can also follow from individual rather than group-based difference versus sameness. We found that discriminatory tendencies can come about on both individual and group levels. We did not find clear differences between autistic and neurotypical populations, with implications for the way in which we conceptualize discrimination and understand autism.

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