Do different genes cause autism in boys and in girls?
According to a study published today in the online edition of Molecular Genetics, different genes may cause autism in boys and girls. (A summary of the research can be read at Eurekalert.org.) The head of the research team, Gerard Schellenberg, a researcher at the Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a research professor of medicine at the University of Washington, notes that the study provides new evidence to suggest that multiple genes cause autism, and also that different genes may play a role in early-onset autism and in the “recently verified regression.”
“It is highly unlikely that there is only one gene responsible for autism,” said Schellenberg. “There may be four to six major genes and 20 to 30 others that might contribute to autism to a lesser degree.
“If an individual only gets three high-risk variants of these genes, it could mean a less-severe form of autism. And because autism is rarer in females, it may take more risk genes for a female to have autism. There also is the possibility that there might be a biological difference in autism for females versus males,” he said.
Go here to read a summary of this study, Different genes may cause autism in boys and girls.
4 opinions for Do different genes cause autism in boys and in girls?
Genetics and Health » Multiple Genes for Autism
Aug 1, 2006 at 1:56 am
[…] Kristina at Autism Vox scooped me on the latest study (drat my need to sleep!) to come out showing that autism is most likely due to more than one gene. Dr. Gerard Schellenberg says there may be four to six major genes and another 20 to 30 genes having a minor role. This isn’t a big surprise because we know that complex diseases like autism, depression, heart disease, and cancer are the result of both genetic and environmental factors. […]
Jannalou
Aug 1, 2006 at 6:42 am
Of course, there’s also the possibility that there isn’t really a gender difference in the indicence of autism, just in the diagnosis of it. I strongly suspect the same of ADHD.
Phil Schwarz
Aug 1, 2006 at 8:06 pm
I concur with Janna.
Too often the diagnosticians simply don’t know what they are looking at.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Aug 1, 2006 at 8:33 pm
So the research needs to rethought from the starting point.
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