Up to half of the people with tuberous sclerosis develop autism and the hope is that any treatment that works well against tuberous sclerosis might also benefit others on the autism spectrum. Tuberous sclerosis is caused by one of several mutations in genes that regulate cell growth and strikes about 1 in 6,000 newborns. People with it commonly develop tumors, autism, and/or epilepsy. The hope is that studying this disease may provide new insights into autism.
