April 2 is declared as World Autism Awareness Day. According to statistics, China currently has more than 2 million children under the age of 12 with autism! With the mission to help these children with autism, referred to as "Children of the Stars", Neural Galaxy has joined the "battle" against the serious disease. In searching for the treatment, Neural Galaxy has brought hope through a unique technology "Precision Brain Function Atla." This ground-breaking technology sheds light on the abnormal areas of individual brain function in autistic children.

Autism is also known as ASD. According to the "Report on the Development of China's Autism Education and Rehabilitation Industry III" released by research institutions, the number of autism cases is increasing year by year. The report, quoting the latest statistics published by the United States, indicates that the incidence rate has risen from 1/88 in 2009 to 1/45 in 2019. At present, the global incidence rate is 1%. In China, about 2 million children under 12 have the disease.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), also known as autism, is defined as a special broad range of developmental disabilities, according to the World Health Organization’s International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Edition and the American Psychiatric Association's Mental Disorders Diagnosis and Statistics Manual 4th Edition (Revised). The current consensus holds that the disabilities in social interaction and communication appearing before the age of 3 as well as repetitive and ritualistic behaviours are the defining characteristics of autistic children.

Major signs and symptoms are as follows: 1. Difficulties in social interaction, such as: preferring being alone, emotional detachment to others and parents, being indifferent to external stimuli; 2. Delayed linguistic development, for example: rarely speaking, using reversed pronouns and peculiar words, or having unintelligible utterances in social communication; 3. Repetitive or ritual behaviours, for example: compulsive or persistent behaviour patterns, a strong response to and anxiety about any change.

The United States spends 3 trillion USD annually on the autistic population group. A research conducted by Leigh, J.P. et.al predicts that in the next century, the annual expenditure on the autistic population will account for 3-4% of the US GDP. The life-long rehabilitation cost of an autistic child in the United States amounts to more than 2.4 million U.S. dollars. In China, such expenditure should also amount to tens of billions of yuan, which brings a heavy burden to the family and society. It is a public health issue and social challenge that deserves wide attention.

The pathogenesis and treatment of autism remain a challenge the scientists from around the world are committed to overcome. At present, the basic science researchers and the medical community generally believe that autism is caused by complex biological factors.

The known pathogenic factors include genetic issues, pregnancy infection and immune responses, intestinal flora, brain-gut axis factors, brain structure and brain function abnormalities, etc. However, there is no final conclusion on which biological factor causes the disorder. Since the current behavioural and drug interventions in treating patients with autism have little effect, it is still necessary to explore more precise and efficacious treatment methods .

。Science research institutions and pharmaceutical companies all over the world are committed to the research and development of autism drugs. At the beginning of 2018, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Group announced that its Balovaptan (RG7314) had obtained the “breakthrough drug qualification” granted by the FDA for the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, in April 2020, Roche announced the termination of the Balovaptan project. The British Psychopharmacological Association states that, so far, there is no clinical evidence to support an efficacious conventional medicinal treatment of autism.

With the breakthrough technology of "Precision Brain Function Atlas", Neural Galaxy discovers that there are significant differences in the brain functional connection between autistic patients and normal people. With precise calculations, the autistic patients’ abnormal connection of brain functions is identified. Collaborating with top medical institutions, Neural Galaxy actively explores innovative therapies and has made exciting progress in clinical trials. "Precision Brain Function Atlas" technology enables doctors to diagnose and understand autism from the perspective of neural circuit mechanisms for the first time and makes efficacious treatment possible.

Different functional connectivities between an autistic brain and non-autistic brain

The children of the stars (film, about children with autism) constitute a group that is often neglected by society. Although they often show reluctant communication, repetitive behaviours, and limited scope of interest, they shine in their own world. Some of them have certain talents, but most of the “children of the stars” need the life-long company of the family and more caring from the society. Neural Galaxy strives to control brain diseases by advancing the understanding of the human brain. At the same time, it actively participates in charity activities and takes concrete actions to care for children with autism, fulfilling its corporate social responsibility with care and love.

Leigh, J.P. and Du, J. (2015) Brief report: forecasting the economic burden of autism in 2015 and 2025 in the United States. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 45, 4135–4139