October 27, 2006

Researchers Link Gene to Autism

By SUSAN BROWN

Scientists have discovered that a gene involved in brain development is linked to autism. Inheriting an alternate form of the gene more than doubles the risk of developing the devastating disorder, they found.

Autism runs in families. Siblings of children with the disorder are 35 times more likely to develop it themselves than children in the overall population are. In cases in which an identical twin develops autism, the other twin develops it 82 percent to 92 percent of the

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