NIH joins search for biomarkers of autism

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Monday that it is joining up with non-profit and private organizations to fund a multi-year project that would research biomarkers for autism.

Over the next four years, the project will receive $28 million, NIH said, to test and refine certain measures that could help evaluate drug and behavioral therapies for autism.

{mosads}NIH’s funding will flow from the the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The project, NIH said, is part of a Biomarkers Consortium, which supports research to identify biomarkers that are prone to certain diseases and develop treatments.

About 1 percent of children have autism, NIH said, which encompasses developmental disabilities that can cause behavioral, social and communication challenges.