CombiMatrix Molecular Diagnostics Launches Microarray Test..

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CombiMatrix Molecular Diagnostics Launches Microarray Test for Detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (Yahoo!)

MUKILTEO, Wash., Dec. 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- CombiMatrix Corporation (NasdaqGM:CBMX - News) announced today that its subsidiary, CombiMatrix Molecular Diagnostics (CMDX), has completed the clinical validation of the first of its ATScan(tm) suite of BAC (Bacterial Artificial Chromosome) array CGH (Comparative Genomic Hybridization) based tests. ATScan is designed to detect known genomic copy-number variations (CNVs) associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and this test is now available to physicians and consumers.

While there is considerable debate as to all of the possible causes of ASD, numerous studies are reporting that structural changes, and in particular CNVs of specific chromosomal regions, can be involved as predisposition factors. CMDX has incorporated this latest genomic information onto a DNA MicroArray utilizing its BAC technology. This development underscores CMDX's unique partnership with thought leaders in genomics such as Dr. Steve Scherer of The Center for Applied Genomics (TCAG) and Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada who recently published confirmatory studies for a role of the SHANK3 gene on chromosome 22q as an ASD susceptibility factor (AJHG 2007; 81: 1289-1297).

``If children analyzed by the new CMDX array are found to carry specific CNVs, they would become candidates for careful monitoring and early intervention,'' stated Dr. Mansoor Mohammed, President and CEO of CMDX. ``CMDX is committed to ensuring the latest data available that may assist in clinical categorization and diagnosis in ASD be represented on our microarrays. For example, relevant data presented at the recent American Society of Human Genetics meeting implicating a role for chromosome 16p11.2 is also already now covered by our ATscan array,'' concluded Dr. Mohammed.

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