NIMH Grant to Explore Genetics of Autism
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National
Institutes of Health, announced this week a 3-year, $3 million grant
to Johns Hopkins University to study the genetic factors underlying
autism.
In an average year, 2 to 6 new cases of Autism, a neuropsychiatric
disorder, arise per 1,000 children. While at least 80 percent of
the disorder is due to hereditary factors, experts believe it develops
from an interaction between environmental factors and multiple unknown
genes. The Johns Hopkins research team, led by Aravinda Chakravarti,
Ph.D., proposes to use new genetic analysis technologies to dissect
the complex neuropsychiatric traits of autism.
“Although the role of hereditary factors in autism is not
in doubt, their nature remains elusive and no single causal gene
has yet been identified,” said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel,
M.D. “This initiative is part of a group of projects put forward
by NIMH to begin unraveling the underlying genetics of autism.”
The study will apply novel statistical methods and molecular technologies
to identify specific genetic markers, or polymorphisms naturally-occurring
genetic variations that may be related to autism. To accomplish
this, the researchers will use DNA and clinical data from the NIMH
Human Genetics Initiative (www.nimhgenetics.org)
and the Autism Genetic Research Exchange (www.agre.org),
two large repositories of research resources available to the scientific
community. The investigators aim to identify specific gene variants
that contribute to vulnerability to autism.
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