Scientists Closer in Understanding Complex Genetics of Autism
A research team of more than 120 scientists from 19 countries in North America and Europe has identified two genetic markers that may affect whether a child develops autism.
The "Autism Genome Project" worked with 1168 families who have two or more autistic children for five years. Researchers isolated one gene called "neurexin 1," associated with the release of glutamate, a chemical critical to early brain development. The other gene is in an area of chromosome 11, but scientists are unsure of how that one works. They also believe that 40 to 50 more genes are linked to autism.
Doctors often diagnose autism in children as young as two years, but the new genetic research may allow them to identify the disorder in babies and treat it with drugs.
Geraldine Dawson, director of the University of Washington Autism Center in Seattle, WA, and a lead investigator for the Autism Genome Project, said that autism has a strong genetic association. For example, if one identical twin is autistic, the other has a 90 percent chance of having some aspects of the disease and a 60 percent chance of having the same symptoms as the sibling. Many people have been searching for environmental causes, such as mercury in childhood vaccinations, to explain why the number of new cases of autism keeps increasing in recent years.
The number of autistic children is about 1 in 150, according to a recent study by the Center for Disease Control. For every girl with autism, there are four boys with the disorder.
The United States National Institute of Health and a nonprofit group called Autism Speaks funded the Autism Genome Project. This study appears in the February 18, 2007 issue of Nature Genetics.
The "Autism Genome Project" worked with 1168 families who have two or more autistic children for five years. Researchers isolated one gene called "neurexin 1," associated with the release of glutamate, a chemical critical to early brain development. The other gene is in an area of chromosome 11, but scientists are unsure of how that one works. They also believe that 40 to 50 more genes are linked to autism.
Doctors often diagnose autism in children as young as two years, but the new genetic research may allow them to identify the disorder in babies and treat it with drugs.
Geraldine Dawson, director of the University of Washington Autism Center in Seattle, WA, and a lead investigator for the Autism Genome Project, said that autism has a strong genetic association. For example, if one identical twin is autistic, the other has a 90 percent chance of having some aspects of the disease and a 60 percent chance of having the same symptoms as the sibling. Many people have been searching for environmental causes, such as mercury in childhood vaccinations, to explain why the number of new cases of autism keeps increasing in recent years.
The number of autistic children is about 1 in 150, according to a recent study by the Center for Disease Control. For every girl with autism, there are four boys with the disorder.
The United States National Institute of Health and a nonprofit group called Autism Speaks funded the Autism Genome Project. This study appears in the February 18, 2007 issue of Nature Genetics.
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