Autism and schizophrenia could be genetic opposites - 02 December 2009
AUTISM and schizophrenia may be two sides of the same coin, suggests a review of genetic data associated with the conditions. The finding could help design complementary treatments for the two disorders. Though autism was originally described as a form of schizophrenia a century ago, evidence for a link has remained equivocal. One theory puts the conditions at opposite ends of a developmental spectrum. To investigate, Bernard Crespi, an evolutionary biologist at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues gathered data on all known genetic variants associated with each condition, then looked for patterns of co-occurrence. The researchers found four regions in the genome which dramatically affect the risk of autism or schizophrenia. Called "copy-number variants", these are stretches of DNA with seemingly accidental duplications or deletions. Crespi's team found that the presence of a particular variant - a duplication, say - was often associated with autism while the opposite variation - a deletion of the genetic material - was linked to schizophrenia (*Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences*,DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0906080106 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0906080106>). The results fit with other evidence that autism may be caused by overdevelopment of specific brain regions and schizophrenia by underdevelopment, says Crespi. If they are indeed opposites, work on one disorder may inform work on its counterpart, he says. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18226-autism-and-schizophrenia-could-be-genetic-opposites.html -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
