Eye response to light may help diagnose autism earlier

From UPI:

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- U.S. researchers say measuring eye response to light could help diagnose autism earlier.

The University of Missouri in Columbia researchers find pupil response to light change was 92.5 percent accurate in separating children with autism from those with typical development.

In the study, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, the researchers used a computerized binocular infrared device -- normally used by eye doctors for vision tests -- to measure how pupils react to a 100-millisecond flash light to find that the pupils of children diagnosed with autism were significantly slower to respond than those of a control group.

"There are several potential mechanisms currently under study," study leader Gang Yao said in a statement.

"If these results are successfully validated in a larger population, pupil response to light change might be developed into a biomarker that could have clinical implications in early screening for risks of autism. Studies have shown that early intervention will improve these children's developmental outcome."