Molecular Autism: accelerating and integrating research into neurodevelopmental conditions

Excerpt

We are delighted to announce the launch of Molecular Autism - a new open-access journal published by BioMed Central. Autism and associated conditions are now recognized as major disabilities with major implications for the public purse. A recent economic analysis of the total annual cost of autism in the UK estimated this to be £28 billion, assuming a prevalence of 1% of the population [1]. The social and communication deficits in this spectrum of conditions, as well as the strongly repetitive behaviors and unusual narrow interests, have their basis in neurodevelopmental changes caused, at the most fundamental level, by molecular alterations, some of which have been identified. The scope of Molecular Autism reflects this broad perspective, from molecular to cellular to systems to neural, cognitive and behavioral level analyses, and back again [2]. …