The causes of autism spectrum disorder or ASD are not fully understood; researchers believe both genetics and environment play a role.
The causes of autism spectrum disorder or ASD are not fully understood; researchers believe both genetics and environment play a role. In some cases, the disorder is linked to de novo mutations that appear only in the child and are not inherited from either parent’s DNA.
In a study published December 23, 2019 in Nature Medicine , an international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, describe a method to measure disease-causing mutations found only in the sperm of the father, providing a more accurate assessment of ASD risk in future children.
“Autism afflicts 1 in 59 children and we know that a significant portion is caused by these de novo DNA mutations, yet we are still blind to when and where these mutations will occur,” said co-senior author Jonathan Sebat, PhD, professor and chief of the Beyster Center for Molecular Genomics of Neuropsychiatric Diseases at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “With our new study, we can trace some of these mutations back to the father, and we can directly assess the risk of these same mutations occurring again in future children.”
Read more at University of California - San Diego
Image Credit: University of California - San Diego
