Autism Gene Discovery

[3113]

I don't know how they found it! I though I'd hidden it away pretty good...

The prospect of more effective treatments for people with autism has been raised after researchers said they had made a breakthrough in discovering how genes play a part in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). ASDs are a group of conditions in which people may have difficulties with social interaction and communication, and display restricted and repetitive behaviour.

The autism genes have been discovered by an international team of researchers and their findings appear in the latest edition of the journal Nature. They analysed genetic variations of 996 people with ASD and compared them with a control sample of 1,287 people without autism. The researchers found that those with autism have a higher number of rare copy number variants (CNVs) in their DNA. CNVs occur when copies of genes appear in more or fewer than two genes per genome.

Stephen Scherer of The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, in Canada told a UK news conference that some of the CNVs appeared to be inherited while others were considered new because they were found in those with autism but not in their parents. “The results will lead to a paradigm shift when it comes to our understanding of the root causes of autism,” Scherer predicted.

Full article here.

 

[Xelebes]

This is not the first of any indicators of predisposition or evidence of ASD that has been discovered. Saying that, this seems to be a good indicator specifically for someone with ASD.

 

[Songcatcher]

The virus is in the vaccine.

Are you stupid, or something?

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I take it this includes epilepsy? I had a not-so-serious case of the when I was younger.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Autism is over diagnosed; the cluster of symptoms are often Pervasive Developmental Delays that self-correct with time.

 

[Jagged]

Another step forward...what it means in terms of treatment or a cure won't be around for awhile.