Alex Tsompanidis: "The placenta can help us predict whether someone will be born with autism."

BarcelonaAlex Tsompanidis (Athens, 1991) is a researcher at the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge and one of the most promising voices in the field of neurodevelopment. After studying medicine in Greece, Tsompanidis began a doctorate at the prestigious English university with the aim of better understanding autism spectrum disorder (ASD). His thesis received recognition from the International Society for Autism Research and the journal Spectrum has highlighted him as one of the 40 best autism researchers under 40. He now continues his research to improve the lives of people with ASD, which he studies from a global perspective and focuses on the placenta, which he believes is at the heart of human neurodevelopment and evolution.

Why did you decide to focus your research on autism?

— When I was studying medicine in Greece, a boy with autism came to the clinic where I was doing my residency. He was seven years old and couldn't speak; he'd never said a word. At the time, we knew very little about this disorder, and beyond the diagnosis, the doctor couldn't answer the questions of a mother who had never spoken to her son. That had a profound impact on me. He was a very curious child, and I thought we should find a way for him to learn to communicate. Now we know that they can communicate very well if it's detected early and work begins at a young age, for example.

However, we still do not know its origin.

— No, unfortunately, there's still a lot of ground to cover. When I started my PhD, I saw that the vast majority of studies on autism and neurodevelopment focused only on the brain, but this organ doesn't develop in isolation; it's part of a whole. So I thought: why don't we study the development process in the mother's womb? One of the key regulators of this process is the placenta, and we believe it may hold the key to predicting which people will be born with ASD.

How are the brain and placenta connected?

— The placenta is not just a passive barrier; it is an active part of neurodevelopment. In a study we published this summer in the journal Evolutionary Anthropology We have shown that hormones such as testosterone and estrogen exist in the placenta, which shape our neural circuits. This means that these hormones affect the brain and behavior during human development.

And how does it affect them?

— They may have made our brains larger and more interconnected. Other studies have shown that testosterone can increase brain size, while estrogen can improve connectivity between neurons. These hormone levels differ between men and women, as does the shape of the placenta, which varies depending on the sex of the child. We believe these differences may be relevant to understanding the origins of autism, since, on average, it affects more men than women.

What are the next steps in your research?

— We are currently in contact with various centers in Scandinavian countries, where there are many biobanks with large amounts of patient data, to further research the placenta and its brain-brain axis. Furthermore, the placenta holds significant potential in the field of research because it is highly accessible at birth. We want to understand why autism is more common in males, discover whether hormone levels contribute to the development of the disorder, and confirm that the placenta can help us predict whether someone will be born with autism.

This would allow us to diagnose much earlier.

— Yes, one of the major goals of upcoming studies is to see if there's a possibility of early diagnosis before birth. Perhaps not all cases of autism will be diagnosed, perhaps only a small portion will be detected early, but if we succeed, we will radically change the prognosis for these individuals.

What are the implications of diagnosing it earlier?

— We could begin working with these people from a young age and achieve full inclusion. The earlier we diagnose, the better we can implement a comprehensive approach and minimize their learning difficulties. We can teach them to read, speak, and socialize more effectively. For example, if you work from a young age, you can give them tools to understand why a joke is offensive, how to play in the playground with other children, or how to share their toys. All of this contributes to a normal life.

This research is also important because the cases are increasing, right?

— Yes, there are increasing cases of autism, but it's also true that the definition of the disorder has changed over time, and we're now diagnosing people who years ago we wouldn't have considered to have ASD. This line of research is important because if we understand how the human brain evolves, we'll understand why it's vulnerable to certain factors that may explain the causes of autism, such as the hormone levels I mentioned. Ultimately, and I want to make this very clear, we don't want to prevent autism; rather, we want children with autism to learn with the same guarantees as other children. Therefore, further research is needed.