The features of autism are often subtle and difficult to define. But roughly one-third of individuals with the disorder have one symptom that's almost impossible to miss: seizures.Estimates of the number of individuals with autism who also have epilepsy — defined as more than one unprovoked seizure — range from 5 to 46 percent. Even the lowest estimates are much higher than the one percent prevalence of epilepsy in the general population.In the past few years, large studies on the epidemiology and genetics of epilepsy and autism have uncovered commonalities between the two disorders. But scientists are only beginning to untangle the biological roots of the overlap."The fact that children with autism are more likely to have epilepsy has been extremely well accepted for over a decade," notes Shafali Spurling Jeste, assistant professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Jeste published a review of this literature in the April issue of Current Opinion in Neurology. "Where people have taken a greater interest lately is understanding the mechanism, asking, 'Can we use the epilepsy to help us understand autism?'" she says.Read more at...SFARI, May 2011.