Discover the Science of Health
A study team of radiologists and psychologists has found that children born with DNA copy number deletions in a specific region on chromosome 16 previously linked to neurodevelopmental problems show measurable delays in processing sound and language [1].
Diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), like those of food allergies, have risen dramatically in children over the last few generations. And again like food allergies, the cause is unclear. However, a team of researchers in England recently identified a genetic link for the disorder [1]. The study, published in The Lancet, found that children with ADHD were more likely to have small segments of their DNA duplicated or missing than other children that don’t have the disorder.
Earlier this month at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in Philadelphia, researchers reported the results of two genome-wide genetic analyses, identifying five significant loci that contribute to autism susceptibility, three of which have not been reported previously [1], as well as a novel association of genetic variation on chromosome 5 with autism [2].
