Researchers can reliably identify individuals with autism by looking at the expression pattern of a set of genes in cultured blood cells, according to a poster presented Friday at the IMFAR 2010 conference in Philadelphia.If the method can be validated in a larger and more diverse sample, it may lead to a useful diagnostic test, researchers say.The current standard for autism diagnosis, a thorough behavioral assessment, has several disadvantages, notes lead investigator Valerie Hu, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at George Washington University. For instance, children may not show the full extent of their behavioral oddities on the test day, and their behavior may change over time."We're aiming for a more objective, molecular diagnosis, if possible," Hu says. "This is not it, but it's a start."Read more at...SFARI, May 2010.