New Autism Gene Research

While many of you may already be aware is this new research, I wanted to raise a bit of awareness to the possibility that there is a genetic component to autism.

In October of 2013, a study was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics about gene deletion in individuals with autism. Joseph Buxbaum, a professor of psychiatry, genetics and genomic sciences and neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who spearheaded this study, indicated that "such gene deletions may cause brain neurons to be miswired and behave differently, the study found, increasing chances that a person will develop autism."

The study was comprised of 431 individuals with autism and 379 people without the developmental disorder. The finding included 803 gene deletions in those on the spectrum and 583 in the control group. Therefore, those with autism were more likely to have multiple small deletions. It was concluded that some of the extra deletions seen in individuals with autism may be contributing to the disorder.