A new project initiative named SPARK aims to gather genetic information from 50,000 people to better help understand and create better methods in treatment for people with autism.
DNA will be taken from individuals over the next three years and analyzed. A pilot scheme was launched in December 2015 during which 500 people signed up to take part in SPARK at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC) site alone.
What makes this study successful is the way in which participants can be involved – all it takes is a saliva swab that can be done in the comfort of their homes and mailed off to the researchers.
SPARK, funded by the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, partnered with 21 clinical sites across the country, as well as autism organizations, service providers and key influencers to help educate the public about SPARK and to recruit participants. Gabriel Dichter, a lead researcher for the UNC site, says that the ease of involvement will allow people to take part and contribute to the largest genetic study of autism ever conducted in the U.S.
Many people do not participate in these kind of studies due to cost of travel or stress but this will allow them to do so and the researchers gaining a wider pool of genes to look at.
“Participation can be completely online. Participants sign up and enter their information, and Simons will send a kit with instructions. So even for folks who don’t live near a big medical center, it is still easy for them to participate.”
The contributions to SPARK will help towards understanding the specific genes that cause autism which has so far not been looked at on such a wide and diverse scale.
“Considering all autistic individuals as having the same cause for their autism creates an intractable problem for treatment. As we now know, there are multiple pathways for the development of autism.”
UNC has become a pioneer in autism research, clinical trials and treatments. Its collaboration with SPARK will go towards possible breakthroughs in how autism can be treated and creating better ways to proceed with further research and knowledge on the neurodevelopmental disorder.