Researchers say they have found the first piece of the genetic puzzle that could lead to greatly improved diagnosis, treatment and even prevention of autism.
A multi-university team, which included the University of Miami School of Medicine, has identified a gene associated with autism, according to a report published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Nature.
It may be only one of as many as 50 genes involved, and environmental factors are also involved, but Margaret Pericak-Vance, director of UM’s Institute for Human Genomics, says the discovery could lead to practical results within a decade. ”Things are moving so fast, in the next five years or so you can see some of this information being translated maybe into prediction, even therapies,” she said.
The study is a collaboration of the UM institute, Vanderbilt University, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Washington in Seattle and the University of California, Los Angeles. In the study, research teams visited a dozen sites around the country and studied more than 10,000 subjects, including individuals with autism spectrum disorder, family members and volunteers without the disorder. Read more…
Posted by Carrie Pollare
Source: Miami Herald
Tags: Autism
