Precision medicine approaches for heterogeneous conditions such as autism spectrum disorders (The need for a biomarker exploration phase in clinical trials - Phase 2m)

Many therapeutic interventions for autism spectrum disorder fail when they are examined in a clinical trial. Frequently, there is a subset of patients that responds very well to the intervention, while others do not, and the overall result does not yield a positive result. As autism spectrum disorder is highly heterogeneous in its underlying genetics and other etiological risk factors, as well as its heterogeneous phenotypic manifestation, this variability in response to any specific treatment is not entirely surprising. However, it remains a challenge to meaningfully subtype this heterogeneity for targeted treatment.
The purpose of this research topic is to solicit articles that address the heterogeneity in autism spectrum disorder in a manner that may meaningfully contribute to targeted treatment approaches. Studies that address the heterogeneity of autism that could theoretically lead to targeted treatment, and studies that more directly address the use of a marker in association with response to a treatment, are both aspects that will contribute to this purpose. It is hoped that this Research Topic will yield articles that can help advance the field towards precision medicine in autism spectrum disorders.
Manuscripts that contribute to the specification of the heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder in a manner that could theoretically lead to targeted treatment would be appropriate for this research topic. Additionally, articles that utilize subtyping in relation to response to treatment would be appropriate for this research topic.