Pregnancy tips Gene Variant Associated With Autism

Here's another discovery in autism research. Apparently they've found a gene variant in a percentage of people with the condition. Read more:

www.newscientist.com

From the article:

"We have for the first time identified a common variant, present in over 65 per cent of autism cases."

To identify the gene, Hakonarson and his colleagues screened DNA from more than 2500 people with autism and more than 7000 healthy controls, searching for common gene variants that were associated with the condition.

The gene lies between two other genes called CAD 10 and CAD 9, which encode adhesion molecules that enable neurons to connect and communicate with one another – and CAD 10 is already known to be expressed in the very regions of the brain that appear to malfunction in people with autism.

Unknown factors
Because other, rarer genes associated with autism also encode cell adhesion molecules, researchers had previously speculated that a breakdown in neural connections during development might lie at the root of the condition. The current study provides the first genetic evidence that a similar problem could be implicated in a large number of cases, Hakonarson says.