Geneticists from the Hospital for Sick Children in Ontario (Canada) analyzed the genetic material of 85 families each with two children diagnosed with autism. For this analysis, they used a technology called whole genome sequencing. Unlike other approaches, this technique maps every biological typo, every misplaced comma in the genome. This allowed them to focus only on the hundred genetic incidents linked to the development of autism. They found that about 30% of the 85 pairs of siblings shared the same mutation, while this was absolutely not the case for 70% of them.
This finding, published in the medical journal naturemedicine shows, according to the researchers, that there are more differences than similarities in autism, even among the most closely related people. And that we must stop imagining developing a treatment that will work for all children.
“This discovery should pave the way for more effective treatments,” explains Dr. Stephen Scherer, who led the study. “In the future, when we make a diagnosis of suspected autism, the child’s genome will be sequenced to find out exactly what form of autism they have. With this information in hand, we will be better able to explain to families what they can do and, more importantly, what they should not do”.
Autism is a neurological disorder that is characterized by impairments in social communication and a preference for repetitive activities. Although a strong genetic basis seems to underlie this disorder, its causes remain unknown.
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