Research by Topic: Siblings

Sam’s Sibs Stick Together website is LIVE!

Published November 19, 2021

Sam’s Sibs Stick Together, an initiative between ASF and Els for Autism designed to support siblings through discussions on scientific research involving non-diagnosed siblings of those on the spectrum, now has it’s own website! You can see it at www.samssibssticktogether.com and be sure to sign up for updates!

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Autism Science Foundation Funds ‘Next Gen Sibs’ Research Project to Aid and Better Understand the Children of Typically Developing Siblings

Published October 12, 2021

NEW YORK — October 12, 2021 — The Autism Science Foundation (ASF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and funding innovative autism research, today announced the first funding recipients in its ‘Next Gen Sibs’ research project. The goal of this project is to establish a future collaborative network that will help in identification, evaluation and possible diagnosis […]

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Genes, environment and heritability: why does it matter?

Published July 29, 2019 in ASF Podcast

This week a 5 country collaboration including the largest number of people EVER revealed 80% of the causes of autism are heritable. This is incredibly important to understand autism and move forward with research that matters to families.  What it did not do was calculate the role of gene x environment interactions which seems to […]

https://asfpodcast.org/archives/794

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DSM5 – where are we now?

Published July 1, 2019 in ASF Pocast

Don’t be fooled, not all the studies on this week’s podcast focus on the DSM5.  But the first one, a review of a meta analysis and review of the dozens of publications that have emerged in the past 5 years around the DSM5 leads us off.  There are some people that weren’t captured by either […]

https://asfpodcast.org/archives/722

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Vaccination Patterns in Children After Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis and in Their Younger Siblings

Published June 26, 2019 in JAMA Pediatrics

IMPORTANCE: In recent years, rates of vaccination have been declining. Whether this phenomenon disproportionately affects children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or their younger siblings is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To investigate if children after receiving an ASD diagnosis obtain their remaining scheduled vaccines according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations and to compare […]

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2676070

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A longitudinal study of parent-reported sensory responsiveness in toddlers at-risk for autism

Published June 26, 2019 in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry

BACKGROUND: Atypical sensory responsivity and sensory interests are now included in the DSM 5 diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) under the broad domain of restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB). However, relatively little is known about the emergence of sensory-related features and their relation to conventionally defined RRB in the first years of life. […]

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jcpp.12978

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Infant viewing of social scenes is under genetic control and is atypical in autism

Published June 24, 2019 in nature

Long before infants reach, crawl or walk, they explore the world by looking: they look to learn and to engage, giving preferential attention to social stimuli, including faces, face-like stimuli and biological motion. This capacity-social visual engagement-shapes typical infant development from birth and is pathognomonically impaired in children affected by autism. Here we show that […]

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22999

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Early brain development in infants at high risk for autism spectrum disorder

Published June 24, 2019 in nature

Brain enlargement has been observed in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the timing of this phenomenon, and the relationship between ASD and the appearance of behavioural symptoms, are unknown. Retrospective head circumference and longitudinal brain volume studies of two-year olds followed up at four years of age have provided evidence that increased brain […]

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21369

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Functional neuroimaging of high-risk 6-month-old infants predicts a diagnosis of autism at 24 months of age

Published June 24, 2019 in Science Translational Medicine

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social deficits and repetitive behaviors that typically emerge by 24 months of age. To develop effective early interventions that can potentially ameliorate the defining deficits of ASD and improve long-term outcomes, early detection is essential. Using prospective neuroimaging of 59 6-month-old infants with a high […]

https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/9/393/eaag2882.short

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EEG Analytics for Early Detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A data-driven approach

Published June 19, 2019 in Scientific Reports

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex and heterogeneous disorder, diagnosed on the basis of behavioral symptoms during the second year of life or later. Finding scalable biomarkers for early detection is challenging because of the variability in presentation of the disorder and the need for simple measurements that could be implemented routinely during well-baby […]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5931530/

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Podcast: Super siblings!

Published October 15, 2018

This podcast is dedicated to siblings of people with autism who are typically developing. They play an important and beneficial role in development of socialization of those with ASD. But sadly, they also have issues of their own, such as a high rate of issues like anxiety and depression. Those siblings may be genetic carries […]

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ASF renews grant to expand Baby Sibs research

Published July 2, 2018

ASF is proud to announce continued support for the Baby Siblings Research Consortium (BSRC), a network of over 33 research sites around the world studying the younger siblings of people with autism. The Baby Sibs database now tracks over 5,000 younger siblings, with and without autism. The database has been used to develop more sophisticated […]

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ASF’s 2018 summer intern shares her experience

Published June 13, 2018

ASF’s summer intern Seowon Song shared her experience as an autism sibling on the ASF blog. In January 2016, she helped develop a support group for siblings of those with autism in South Korea named “Nanun”. The group published a book of their stories in March 2018. You can read the blog in English and […]

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Podcast: When can you see autism in the brain?

Published February 20, 2017

This week the Infant Brain Imaging Study, or IBIS, published it’s second study on the emergence of changes in the brains of individuals with autism. While red flags for autism can be seen early, a diagnosis of autism is not typically made until after 24 months of age. Using a baby sibling research design, scientists showed […]

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Unfortunate new risk discovered for people with autism and their siblings

Published October 17, 2016

In addition to risks of anxiety, ADHD, mood disorders and other psychiatric issues, people with autism (and their siblings) show increased risk of substance abuse issues. This information comes from a large Scandinavian registry study that included over 26,000 individuals with ASD. On this week’s podcast Dr. Alycia Halladay Ross discusses what this means for […]

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New podcast on research in siblings

Published October 11, 2016

Two studies recently add to an ever-growing body of literature around undiagnosed siblings of individuals with autism. While in autism features there is evidence of the “broader autism phenotype” in female siblings, there is no evidence of elevated sensory symptoms in those with a brother or system with autism. The more we understand about the […]

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New podcast examines the broader autism phenotype in siblings

Published August 4, 2016

Siblings of individuals with autism, and sometimes parents, can show mild features of autism that don’t meet ASD diagnostic criteria.  This is called the broader autism phenotype.  Sometimes they also show emotional and behavior problems, ADHD, tic disorder and an autism diagnosis. This week’s podcast summaries new findings on the broader autism phenotype with the […]

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Summer Institute presentation focuses on importance of studying infant siblings

Published June 21, 2016 in http://www.autism-insar.org/research-opportunities/summer-institute2016

Dr. Joseph Piven, member of the High Risk Baby Siblings Research Consortium, will present a 2 hour webinar as part of the INSAR Summer Institute on June 30th at 2PM – 4PM EST.  To learn more or register, click here:  http://www.autism-insar.org/research-opportunities/summer-institute2016

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Increased Risk of Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Siblings

Published May 5, 2016

In a new study published JAMA Pediatrics yesterday examined psychiatric records of siblings of people with autism living in Finland.  They found the rates of ASD, ADHD, ID, childhood emotional disorders, learning and coordination disorders, conduct and oppositional disorders, and tic disorders, were more frequent among siblings of siblings with ASD.  Also, there was an increase in schizophrenia […]

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Occurrence and Family Impact of Elopement in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Published November 8, 2015 in Pediatrics

This study assessed parent-reported elopement occurrence and associated factors among children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)s.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

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Examining and Interpreting the Female Protective Effect against Autistic Behavior

Published February 19, 2013 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

This study examined the hypothesis that a protective component of the female sex protects females from autistic behavioral impairment. The results indicate that greater familial risk may be associated with ASD in females, and males may require fewer familial risk factors to reach a similar impairment threshold. The authors hope the study will provide insight into the ASD sex ratio and aid future genetic research.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/02/13/1211070110.abstract

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Autisms Invisible Victims: The Siblings

Published November 30, 2012 in Time

Earlier this week, Rep. Darrell Issa, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight & Government Reform held a hearing on how the federal government can better respond to the dramatic rise in autism rates. Yet for all this concern, one large affected group is being routinely overlooked: the siblings.

http://ideas.time.com/2012/11/30/autisms-invisible-victims-the-siblings/

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Object Exploration at 6 and 9 Months in Infants with and without Risk for Autism

Published November 22, 2012 in Autism

Co-authored by ASF grantee Nina Leezenbaum, this study found delayed visual and oral exploration of objects in infant siblings of children with autism that were not observed in infants with no family history.

http://aut.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/11/20/1362361312464826

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Atypical Activation During the Embedded Figures Task as a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Endophenotype of Autism

Published October 11, 2012 in Brain

This study uncovers a possible fMRI endophenotype of autism, showing that compared to typically developing controls with no family history of ASD, adolescents with autism and non-autistic siblings had atypical patterns of brain activation during the Embedded Figures Task.

http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/10/11/brain.aws229.long

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Immunization Uptake in Younger Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Published October 8, 2012 in Autism

Study finds that parents who already have one child with autism spectrum disorder may delay or decline immunization for their younger children, potentially placing them at increased risk of preventable infectious diseases.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23045216#

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The Development of Referential Communication and Autism Symptomatology in High-Risk Infants

Published October 1, 2012 in Infancy

This study suggests that non-verbal communication delays in infants with autistic siblings can predict later ASD symptoms.For a Science Daily article on this paper, click here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121001124802.htm

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-7078.2012.00142.x/abstract

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De novo mutations revealed by whole-exome sequencing are strongly associated with autism.

Published April 4, 2012 in PubMed

Among a total of 279 identified de novo coding mutations, there is a single instance in probands, and none in siblings, in which two independent nonsense variants disrupt the same gene, SCN2A (sodium channel, voltage-gated, type II, ? subunit), a result that is highly unlikely by chance.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22495306

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IACC Releases Its 2011 Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

Published April 2, 2012 in IACC

On April 2, in honor of the fifth annual World Autism Awareness Day and HHS Autism Awareness Month the IACC has released its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field.

IACC Releases Its 2011 Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

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New Data Show Children With Autism Bullied Three Times More Frequently Than Their Unaffected Siblings

Published March 26, 2012 in MarketWatch

Today, the Interactive Autism Network (IAN), www.ianproject.org , the nation’s largest online autism research initiative and a project of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, reports preliminary results of the first national survey to examine the impact of bullying on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The results show that 63 percent of children with ASD have been bullied at some point in their lives. These children, who are sometimes intentionally “triggered” into meltdowns or aggressive outbursts by peers, are bullied three times more frequently than their siblings who do not have ASD.

New Data Show Children With Autism Bullied Three Times More Frequently Than Their Unaffected Siblings

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Mothers of Autistic Children Earn 56% Less Income, Study Says

Published March 19, 2012 in CBS News

On average, families with a child who has autism earn 28% less than those of a child without a health limitation; nearly $18,000 less per year.

Mothers of Autistic Children Earn 56% Less Income, Study Says

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New Research Suggests Birth Weight Plays A Role In Autism Spectrum Disorder

Published January 23, 2012 in Medical News Today

Although the genetic basis of autism is now well established, a growing body of research also suggests that environmental factors may play a role. Using a unique study design, a new study suggests that low birth weight is an important environmental factor contributing to the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

New Research Suggests Birth Weight Plays A Role In Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Genetic Heritability and Shared Environmental Factors Among Twin Pairs with Autism

Published November 1, 2011 in Archives of General Psychiatry

Recent research suggests that environmental factors may play a much greater role in autism risk than previously suspected and could even be more influential than genetic factors. These findings stem from a study of autism in twins, the largest of its kind, designed to model the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the development […]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21727249

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Recurrence Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Baby Siblings Research Consortium Study

Published August 1, 2011 in Pediatrics, Ozonoff et al.

A study published August 15, 2011 in the journal Pediatrics found that infants with an older autistic sibling have a near 19 percent risk that they too will develop the disorder. The study is considered the largest autism study to follow infants for sibling recurrence.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/08/11/peds.2010-2825.abstract

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Rare De Novo and Transmitted Copy-Number Variation in Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Published June 9, 2011 in Neuron

A study of the genetic causes of autism confirmed that spontaneous or de novo mutations are present in a substantial number of families with only one child on the spectrum. These de novo mutations are not inherited from parents' DNA, arising instead in their egg or sperm or very early in embryonic development. Researchers compared […]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21658582

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Gene Linked to Severity of Autism’s Social Dysfunction Identified

Published April 7, 2011 in Science Daily

With the help of two sets of brothers with autism, Johns Hopkins scientists have identified a gene associated with autism that appears to be linked very specifically to the severity of social interaction deficits. The gene, GRIP1 (glutamate receptor interacting protein 1), is a blueprint for a traffic-directing protein at synapses — those specialized contact points between brain cells across which chemical signals flow.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110406123019.htm

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Autism Risk Linked To Space Between First And Second Pregnancy

Published January 10, 2011 in Medical News Today

A second child is three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism if they are born within twelve months of their siblings, compared to those born three or more years apart, researchers from the Lazarsfeld Center for the Social Sciences at Columbia University, New York revealed in the journal Pediatrics. The investigators gathered information on 660,000 second children born in California between 1992 to 2002.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/213245.php

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Neural Signatures of Autism

Published December 1, 2010 in PNAS, Kaiser, Hudack, Schultz, Lee, Cheung, Berken, Deen, Pitskel, Sugrue, Voos, Saulnier, Ventola, Wolf, Klin, Vander Wyk, Pelphrey

These findings of this study hold far-reaching implications for our understanding of the neural systems underlying autism. Using FMRI to record the biological motion of children with autism spectrum disorder, unaffected siblings of children with ASD, and typically developing children, the study reveals three types of neural signatures: The study finds distinct brain responses to […]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21078973

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Brain Scans Detect Autism’s Signature

Published November 16, 2010 in Science Daily

An autism study by Yale School of Medicine researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has identified a pattern of brain activity that may characterize the genetic vulnerability to developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The team identified three distinct “neural signatures”: trait markers — brain regions with reduced activity in children with ASD and their unaffected siblings; state markers — brain areas with reduced activity found only in children with autism; and compensatory activity — enhanced activity seen only in unaffected siblings. The enhanced brain activity may reflect a developmental process by which these children overcome a genetic predisposition to develop ASD.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101115161253.htm

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Siblings of Autistic Children May Have Some Autism Related Traits, Study Says

Published October 11, 2010 in LA Times

Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine have uncovered more evidence of a genetic basis for autism. Reviewing surveys collected from more than 1,000 families with autistic kids, they discovered that siblings of autistic children who have not been diagnosed with the disease often exhibit mild traits of autism, including speech delays.

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-autism-20101011,0,976254.story

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Language Delays Found in Siblings of Children with Autism

Published October 3, 2010 in Medical News Today

A new study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, found mild traits, not strong enough to provoke a diagnosis of autism, seem to be present in the siblings of affected children at significantly higher rates than seen in the general population. Siblings of children with autism have more frequent language delays and other subtle characteristics of the disorder than previously understood. Girls also may be mildly affected more often than recognized in the past.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/203249.php

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Link to Autism in Boys Found in Missing DNA

Published September 15, 2010 in Science Daily

If a boy’s X-chromosome is missing the PTCHD1 gene or other nearby DNA sequences, they will be at high risk of developing ASD or intellectual disability. Girls are different in that, even if they are missing one PTCHD1 gene, by nature they always carry a second X-chromosome, shielding them from ASD.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100915150951.htm

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Prenatal and Infant Exposure to Thimerosal from Vaccines and Immunoglobulins and Risk of Autism

Published September 1, 2010 in Pediatrics, Price et al

This new study in the journal of Pediatrics indicated that there was no increased risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder associated with receipt of thimerosal-containing vaccines. The study also found no increased risk for any of the subtypes of Autism Spectrum Disorder, including ASD with regression. In addition, it found no increased risk of Autism Spectrum […]

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2010-0309v1?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=thimerosal&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

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Infants Gaze May Be an Early, but Subtle, Marker for Autism Risk

Published September 1, 2010 in Science Daily

Kennedy Krieger Institute have announced new study results showing an early marker for later communication and social delays in infants at a higher-risk for autism may be infrequent gazing at other people when unprompted. The study also found that six-month-old high-risk infants demonstrated the same level of cause and effect learning skills when compared to low-risk infants of the same age.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100901111628.htm

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New Research Raises Hope that Autism Effects May Be Reversible

Published April 22, 2010 in Medical News Today

A new study by researchers at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology raises hope that autism may be more easily diagnosed and that its effects may be more reversible than previously thought. Researchers have identified potentially removable chemical tags (called “methyl groups”) on specific genes of autistic individuals that led to gene silencing. They also observed these changes in cells derived from blood, opening the way to molecular screening for autism using a blood test.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/186262.php

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New Study Of Autism Reveals a ‘DNA tag’ Amenable To Treatment

Published April 8, 2010 in EurekAlert

A new discovery raises hope that autism may be more easily diagnosed and that its effects may be more reversible than previously thought. In a new study appearing online in The FASEB Journal, scientists have identified a way to detect the disorder using blood and have discovered that drugs which affect the methylation state (“DNA tagging”) of genes could reverse autism’s effects. This type of drug is already being used in some cancer treatments.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-04/foas-nso040810.php

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Autism’s Earliest Symptoms Not Evident in Children Under 6 Months

Published February 16, 2010 in Science Daily

A study of the development of autism in infants, comparing the behavior of the siblings of children diagnosed with autism to that of babies developing normally, has found that the nascent symptoms of the condition — a lack of shared eye contact, smiling and communicative babbling — are not present at 6 months, but emerge gradually and only become apparent during the latter part of the first year of life.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216091009.htm

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Genes Implicated in Twins’ Autism

Published January 4, 2010 in The Baltimore Sun

Researchers have known for years that when one identical twin has autism, the other is also likely to be diagnosed with it – evidence that autism likely has a genetic component. Recent studies support that theory. Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute studied 277 pairs of twins and found that when one identical twin had the disorder, the other developed it 88 percent of the time; for fraternal twins, that figure was 31 percent.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bal-md.hs.autism04jan04,0,7145703.story

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California Dept of Health Publishes Study on Autism and Maternal/Paternal Age

Published October 5, 2009 in American Journal of Epidemiology

Reviewing a larger population than in any other study of its kind, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has found that as parents age their risk of giving birth to a child with autism increases modestly. Published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, the new CDPH study shows that for each 10-year increase in a mothers age, the risk of autism increased by about 38 percent. For each 10-year increase in a fathers age, the risk of autism increased by about 22 percent.

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR09-87-CDPHPUBLISHESSTUDYONAUTISMANDMATERNALANDPATERNALAGE.aspx

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High-density SNP association study of the 17q21 chromosomal region linked to autism identifies CACNA1G as a novel candidate gene

Published May 1, 2009 in Molecular Psychiatry, Strom, Stone, Bosch, Merriman, Cantor, Geschwind, and Nelson

(From a UCLA press release) UCLA scientists have discovered a variant of a gene called CACNA1G that may increase a child's risk of developing autism, particularly in boys. "We found that a common form of the gene occurs more frequently in the DNA of families that have two or more sons affected by autism, but […]

http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/mp200941a.html

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Structural Variation of Chromosomes in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Published February 28, 2008 in American Journal of Human Genetics, Marshall, Noor, et al

Structural variation (copy number variation [CNV] including deletion and duplication, translocation, inversion) of chromosomes has been identified in some individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the full etiologic role is unknown. We performed genome-wide assessment for structural abnormalities in 427 unrelated ASD cases via single-nucleotide polymorphism microarrays and karyotyping. With microarrays, we discovered 277 […]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18252227

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