A novel test for autism has got the science community talking. The test reportedly can diagnose autism in children using only a single strand of hair.
The revolutionary test is the product of a startup called LinusBio, and might soon assist in identifying autism spectrum disorder in young children before they begin showing symptoms. The outcomes of the study on the diagnostic test have been published within the journal Clinical Medicine.
“No clinician should make a choice on if a baby has autism solely based on this,” Manish Arora, LinusBio co-founder and CEO said. “This provides an important piece of knowledge, but not the one piece of knowledge.”
In other words, the test is a diagnostic aid, meaning it is supposed to help clinicians in identifying autism, but mustn’t be relied on alone.
“The technology is incredibly novel. The usage of hair and the style of measurements they’re doing with hair is revolutionary,” Dr. Andrea Baccarelli, a professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University, who was not involved in the corporate’s research, said, reported NBC News. “It’s groundbreaking.”
Human hair consists of a history of exposure to metals and other substances. This data is analyzed using an algorithm to search for patterns of particular metals which can be related to autism.
The test is the primary to research any such exposure history over time, and will predict autism accurately about 81% of the time.
The test involves running a laser on a hair, which turns it right into a plasma for evaluation. In line with the CEO, lower than half an inch of hair captures a month’s value of information.
LinusBio said its test can find metal metabolism in 4-6 hour installments.
“It’s almost like having a security camera where you possibly can return and get a have a look at 4 pictures a day,” Baccarelli said.
Within the study, the researchers honed their technology through the use of hair samples from 486 children from three countries: Japan, Sweden, and the US.
Next, they analyzed 97 hair samples, wherein the algorithm appropriately identified cases of autism spectrum disorder greater than 96% of the time. Furthermore, the test identified negative cases accurately about 75% of the time.
“The issue with autism is it’s diagnosed on the age of 4 on average. By that point, a lot brain development has already happened,” Arora said. “We would like to enable early intervention.”
Currently, no biological test exists for autism spectrum disorder. As a substitute, children are sometimes diagnosed after parents spot unusual behavior similar to avoiding eye contact, delays in language or not pointing. Nonetheless, these behaviors vary widely.
Giving a lift to the product’s prospects, The Food and Drug Administration gave LinusBio’s test a “breakthrough” designation, as per the outlet. The label is supposed to expedite regulatory approval for brand spanking new technology if there aren’t any alternatives available available in the market. Nonetheless, it doesn’t change approval standards, and the corporate must clear regulatory obstacles before its device could change into widespread within the U.S.