Irish researchers identify several genes that may be linked to autism

A TEAM of researchers at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has made a major breakthrough towards solving the mystery of autism.

The researchers have identified several genes which they now believe may be linked to the neurological disorder.

Dr Louise Gallagher, consultant and lecturer in child psychiatry at TCD, believes one of the genes may affect the ability of nerve cells in the brain to make connections.

Another is thought to influence an enzyme in the blood which could contribute to the severity of autism.

As part of a major international project, the team at the Smurfit Department of Genetics has been studying 200 Irish children with autism and their families.

New technology has allowed the researchers to examine the genetic make-up of the Irish families, scanning genes quickly and in much finer detail for over 10,000 variants.

Around 2,000 children and young adults have autism in Ireland, a condition whereby a person is unable to relate to people and situations.

The discovery could make it easier to spot families at risk of having an autistic child.

It could also help in the quest to identify the genetic and environmental triggers for the condition which is characterised by emotional detachment and an inability to relate to others.

In other separate research, Dr Eric Peterson, from the University of Colorado in Denver, USA, has compared the brain scans of 40 parents with autistic children with those of 40 parents whose children did not have autism.

The parents of autistic children shared several differences in brain structure with their offspring. These included an unexpected increase in the size of the motor cortex and basal ganglia, both areas linked to movement planning and imitation.

The neighbouring somatosensory cortex, by contrast, was smaller than average. This region is important for understanding social information such as facial expressions, a skill autistic people often lack.

There were also reductions in the cerebellum, important for coordinating movement, and a frontal region thought to play a key role in understanding the intentions of others.