Patent ID: 7452681

Claim:
A method of diagnosing an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in an individual, the method comprising: (a) contacting a first fluid tissue sample from the individual with brain extracts comprising at least one brain region selected from the group consisting of cerebellum, amygdala and orbital frontal cortex, wherein the first fluid tissue sample is blood, serum, plasma or cerebrospinal fluid, and wherein the brain extracts are from a non-living primate; (b) detecting binding of autoantibody from the fluid tissue sample to a neural antigen in the brain extracts, wherein binding of the autoantibody to a neural antigen in the extract of at least one of cerebellum, amygdala or orbital frontal cortex is indicative of an ASD; (c) contacting a second fluid tissue sample from the individual with a brain section comprising cerebellum from a non-living primate, wherein the second fluid tissue sample is blood, serum, plasma or cerebrospinal fluid; and (d) detecting a pattern of staining resulting from binding of the autoantibody to the brain section that is indicative of an ASD, wherein the pattern of staining is characterized by scattered intensively stained cells below the Purkinje layer of the cerebellum; whereby detecting the binding of the autoantibody and detecting the pattern of staining is indicative of the presence of an ASD, thereby diagnosing an ASD in the individual.