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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		A possible explanation for the female protective effect in autism
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:00:59
	Publish Date:		2016-04-20 00:00:00
	Description:		Autism is five times more common in boys than girls, and a recent study at the University of California, San Francisco suggests a possible explanation for what’s called the Female Protective Effect. Using zebrafish carrying a gene known to lead to autism in humans, researcher Matthew State found that estrogens, an important hormone in females, reversed autism-like behavior. "From our genetic studies, we’ve identified that genetic changes that lead to autism in girls, as a general proposition, are more numerous and carry larger effects than they do in boys. And what that suggests is that you need more of a disturbance in girls, in order to get the same outcome as you do in boys. If you knew what the protective factor was, you would understand not only something about the biology of autism, but you would also understand something about the biology of resilience to autism risk." State hopes these insights will eventually lead to ways to treat or prevent autism.
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