> Autism

Scientists have produced the most compelling evidence to date that genetics play a key role in autism. They highlighted tiny genetic changes that appear to have a strong impact on the likelihood of developing autism and related conditions.

OXFORD, England, Nov. 5 -- Discovery of the first gene associated with specific language impairment in children could help explain language problems in autism as well, researchers said. Variants of the gene CNTNAP2 were significantly associated with the inability of children with typical specific language impairment to process and repeat nonsense words, a heritable behavioral marker of this disorder, reported Simon E. Fisher, D.Phil., of the University of Oxford, and colleagues online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A new screening method can be used to detect the chromosomal abnormalities most commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders. By screening for genetic defects associated with various kinds of cognitive impairment, the approach described in the open access journal BMC Medical Genomics will help clinicians identify the underlying causes of some patients' autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Abnormalities on chromosome 16 appear to raise children's risk for developing autism, a new study suggests.

A gene that appears to play a key role in the development of autism has been identified by three different teams of researchers.

Genes associated with an autism risk appear to be clustered in a region on chromosome 11, according to the largest study yet of families with a predisposition to the condition

The deletion or duplication of a tiny region of chromosome 16 appears to be tightly linked to autism, researchers here said

The risk for autism appears to increase in the presence of a common genetic variation on chromosome seven, especially when the condition is inherited from the mother, researchers here said