New therapy may make Autism-affected persons less dependent on others

Research by Indian scientists have, perhaps for the first time, revealed a potential therapy for persons suffering from Autism or Intellectual Disability (ID) that may enable the patients to lead a life less dependent on others.

Experiments conducted by a team from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) found that manipulation of a particular type of protein that plays a crucial role during brain development could help in mitigating neurophysiological deficits.

Claiming that this study could be the “first demonstration” of the reversal of autistic behaviour and neural wiring, the authors state that their work provides a new potential therapeutic option by targeting epigenetic modifications in the protein, called Syngap1, that can restore the deficits to an extent that will enable the patient reduce dependence on others.

The research has been published in the March 2025 issue of Aging Cell, a peer-reviewed journal published by The Anatomical Society, a 138-year-old organisation based in the United Kingdom.

Current therapeutics prescribed to treat Autism or ID are mostly related to alleviating the symptoms rather than correcting the phenotypes observed in neurodevelopmental disorders, especially after brain development.

Medical literature defines Autism as a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by repetitive, restricted and inflexible patterns of behaviour, interests and activities, as well as difficulties in social interaction and social communication. Sensory abnormalities and motor coordination impairment are also included in the diagnosis.

The World Health Organisation estimates about 1 in 100 children had autism between 2012 and 2021, with a trend of increasing prevalence over time. According to a 2021 study published in the Indian Journal of Paediatrics, the estimated prevalence of Autism in India is around 1 in 68 children. Boys are more commonly affected by Autism than girls, with a male-to-female ratio of approximately 3:1.

Doctors say that the exact cause of Autism is unknown and it manifests in various ways and its severity and support needs vary widely. While there’s no cure for Autism, various therapies and interventions can help individuals manage symptoms, improve skills and enhance their quality of life.

The researchers at JNCASR conducted experiments on mice. They found that with mice with mutated syngap gene, which resemble humans with the mutated syngap gene that is present in autistic patients, the bio-chemical process of DNA-associated proteins that provide structural support for chromosomes is repressed in the brain.