Pediatric ischemic stroke increases the risk for autism, especially in children with comorbid epilepsy, according to results of a Swedish cohort study published in Neurology.
“The etiology of autism is complex and has been under intense examination pointing both to genetic and environmental causes, in some cases shown by abnormal structural development of the brain,” Heléne Sundelin, MD, PhD, of the neuropediatric unit at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues wrote. “Autism also shares risk factors with pediatric ischemic stroke, such as maternal and