The blog post this week looks at the link between autism and DNA and news of new developments regarding research into the condition.

Scientists claim that they have discovered a link between the two which emerged through analysing the genomes of almost 1,000 autistic people and comparing their DNA against that of over 1,200 unaffected people. The results showed up significant differences between the DNA of the two groups and the scientists believe this could explain why autism has a strong genetic component that could trigger the condition in certain circumstances.

The scientists caution that this work is still in its early stages and that many more years of painstaking research will have to be done to understand and treat the genetic alterations that increase a person’s susceptibility to the disorder. However it has led to hopes that some time in the future there could be earlier diagnosis tests for autism and possible new forms of treatment.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/autism-and-genetics-a-breakthrough-that-sheds-light-on-a-medical-mystery-1996221.html