This week (May 11-14) at the Baltimore Convention Center, the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) has brought together more than two thousand researchers and specialists from around the world to discuss the latest findings on the causes and treatment of autism. The brain development disorder affects as many as 2% of the children born in the United States every year.
Dr. Daniele Fallin is a leader in autism research and treatment at the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health here in Baltimore. She heads the school’s Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. She and a team of researchers presented a new studyat this week’s meeting that's raised eyebrows: it discovered that excess amounts of an essential dietary supplement for pregnant women – folic acid -- might increase the risk of autism. To discuss her findings and other research being presented at this week’s conference, Dr. Fallin sat down with Maryland Morning senior producer Rob Sivak.
