Genome Article

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Guys

Here is yet anther totally insignificant finding on chromosomal Damage. It reads

like a break through until you do the math. They found a deletion in 18 out of

15000 kids on the spectrum and them published it as a major break though,

Amazing!

Crappy science without merit! They could have as easily looked for XMRV presence

in 15,000 kids. Lets get he resources away from the genetics guys and send it to

some viralologists. What a waste of money.

Chromosome Change Points to Autism, SchizophreniaLiveScience.com " height= " 27 "

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Chan

MyHealthNewsDaily Staff Writer

LiveScience.com Chan

myhealthnewsdaily Staff Writer

livescience.com – 16 mins ago

People who possess a specific change in one of their chromosomes are nearly 14

times more likely to develop an autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia than

those without this change, according to a new study.

The change, which is called a deletion, happens when a section of chromosome 17

is missing. The deletion is found only in people who have an autism spectrum

disorder, a developmental delay or schizophrenia, said study researcher H.

Ledbetter, a genetics professor at Emory University.

" This is just adding one more to that rapidly growing list of genetic mutations "

associated with autism that doctors could use to measure autism and

schizophrenia risk in children, Ledbetter told MyHealthNewsDaily.

Not all people with autism, a developmental delay or schizophrenia have this

deletion. But all people who have the chromosome change will develop some form

of the disorders, whether it's mild or strong enough for a diagnosis, he said.

Schizophrenia and autism are separate disorders, but other recent research has

also shown the two have genetic similarities.

" At least in a subset of autism and a subset of schizophrenia, the same [genetic

changes] play a major role in both, " Ledbetter said. " It will be interesting in

the future, because we'll have the ability to identify this type of deletion in

young children, and follow them to figure out why some of them do develop

autism and some don't. "

The new study was published today (Nov. 4) in the American Journal of Human

Genetics.

Detecting the deletion

Researchers looked in a genetic database of 15,749 people with a developmental

delay, intellectual disability or an autism spectrum disorder.

They found 18 of these people had the deletion on chromosome 17. But not one of

the 4,519 healthy people tested had the deletion, according to the study.

Researchers tracked down nine of the 18 people in the database with the genetic

deletion. All nine had cognitive impairments, and six of them had autism, the

study said.

To confirm these findings, researchers looked at two other databases that had

genetic information for 7,522 people with autism or schizophrenia. They found

the same deletion in two people with an autism spectrum disorder or cognitive

impairment, and four adults with schizophrenia. None of the 43,076 healthy

people tested had the deletion.

" That means the deletion has a major phenotypic effect, " Ledbetter said. " It

can manifest as developmental delay, intellectual disability or autism, or it

may not be diagnosed and recognized until adulthood when there are psychiatric

manifestations that lead to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. "

In line with the research

Some of the people with the deletion also had other health problems, such as

renal cysts and diabetes.

" We're starting to appreciate now that oftentimes, when we talk about

psychiatric conditions, it doesn't really come just by itself, " said Andy Shih,

vice president of science for the nonprofit Autism Speaks, who wasn't involved

with the study. " A lot of times, you see a host of other conditions that

travels with autism. "

Previous work has found genes that are associated with autism, but these genes

have " low penetrance " - meaning the genes were also found in people who don't

have any symptoms of autism, said Rodier, a professor at the

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

" But in this case, it appears that virtually all of the people who have this

anomaly of this gene have some symptoms, " said Rodier, who wasn't involved with

the study.

The new findings could be used in a genetic test that could help people confirm

an autism or schizophrenia diagnosis, as well as determine their risk of

developing one of these conditions, Rodier said.