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Autism gene breakthrough hailed

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Davidufo
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19 Feb 2007, 7:43 am

I read this today...

'Scientists have found new autism genes by scanning the largest collection of families with multiple cases of autism ever assembled......'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6369347.stm


(it's a news article, from today)



alex
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19 Feb 2007, 7:55 am

Quote:
Scientists have found new autism genes by scanning the largest collection of families with multiple cases of autism ever assembled.
The monumental task of studying the 1,200 families took more than 120 scientists from more than 50 institutions across 19 countries.

The work, described in Nature Genetics, implicates a region of chromosome 11 and a specific gene called neurexin 1.

Experts say the findings should help with finding new autism treatments.


I wonder how valid this is...


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Davidufo
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19 Feb 2007, 8:21 am

Quote:
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, said independent replication of the findings was now needed.

The next phase of the work, which will take three years and cost more than £7m, will hone in on the suspect areas of DNA.


yeah, i suppose we'll have to wait until other scientists can match this work. Three years for the next stage does sound like a long time, though.



TheMachine1
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19 Feb 2007, 8:23 am

Alex wrote:
Quote:
Scientists have found new autism genes by scanning the largest collection of families with multiple cases of autism ever assembled.
The monumental task of studying the 1,200 families took more than 120 scientists from more than 50 institutions across 19 countries.

The work, described in Nature Genetics, implicates a region of chromosome 11 and a specific gene called neurexin 1.

Experts say the findings should help with finding new autism treatments.


I wonder how valid this is...


What I read was neurexin was involved in early brain development which suggest to me a treatment that will help any person (or any person that will be born in the next 10 years or so) with AS is unlikely. Also this is just one gene in a larger number of unknown genes that controls autism.

Would a pharmaceutical company want to develop a drug for a small number of pregnant mothers (or maybe new born's) to prevent autism? Seem more likely a simple genetic test followed by abortion is what will happen.



Candymanic
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19 Feb 2007, 8:35 am

Gimme about 7 years to get through Uni and do the right stuff, and i'll prove it.

Yup.. my life's ambition, find exactly what makes us aspies tick


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