A new study conducted by researchers at the University of California at Davis shows that autistic children have increased levels of certain proteins in their blood which may make it possible to detect autism very early in life by conducting a simple blood test.

The study compared blood samples of 35 normal children and 70 autistic children between the ages of four and six. The samples were compared for immune cells and approximately 4,000 different proteins and other metabolites.

The researchers discovered that autistic children had a 20 percent higher amount of antibody producing B-cells and 40 percent more immune cells as compared to normal children. There were also marked differences in approximately 120 different proteins in the autistic children's blood.

'There are enough differences in the blood that it is a good strategy for finding a diagnostic marker,' said David Amaral, the leader of the study.

Amaral believes this will make it easier to detect autism at an earlier age in children which will lead to earlier help and potentially earlier treatment. 'Not being able to detect autism until a child is close to three-years-old eliminates a valuable window of treatment opportunity during the first few years of life when the brain is undergoing tremendous development. From these results we think it is highly likely that there are differences we can detect in blood samples that will be predictive of the disorder, though we are still some years away from having an actual diagnostic blood test for autism,' he said.

Autism effects a child's development skills including cognitive and language skills and their ability to interact with other children. Although a blood test is still several years away, today's study results give new hope that in the near future, autism will be detectable early and more easily and effectively treated.