A Swedish twin study plans to search for the shared genetic and environmental origins of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which are often mistaken for each other.
Do genetic differences or diagnostic biases account for the gender imbalance in autism? Catherine Lord, David Skuse and Angelica Ronald weigh in.
Traits that typically accompany autism, such as social impairments and communication difficulties, remain largely consistent as children age, and this stability is primarily due to genetic factors, a new study concludes. The research, published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, is based on more than 6,000 twin pairs in the general population.
Anxiety runs in families with a history of autism, hinting that the two conditions may share a common origin, suggests a twin study published in November.
Children who have older siblings with autism are seven times more likely than those in the general population to receive autism diagnoses themselves, according to a large Danish study published 19 August in JAMA Pediatrics.
Methylation — modifications to DNA that regulate gene expression — may explain why identical twins with the same Rett syndrome mutation have different symptoms, according to a study published 21 June in PLoS One.
Watch the complete replay of Francesca Happé discussing how autism’s constellation of symptoms may have independent biological causes. Submit your own follow-up questions.
A new software tool detects chromosomal alterations present in only a subset of cells in the body. This method, described 31 May in BMC Genomics, may help reveal mosaicism’s contribution to neurological disorders.
Epigenetics, or the chemical markings on DNA that affect gene expression, plays a role in some cases of autism, according to a study of 50 identical twins published 23 April in Molecular Psychiatry.
Researchers studying autism prevalence should take into account the continuous nature of autism symptoms in the general population, says John Constantino.