One problem, many paths
Autism’s many genetic players may act through common networks
Though the diagnostic code scrawled on a doctor’s chart might suggest otherwise, each person who lives with an autism spectrum disorder has a very private disease. An avalanche of new genetic data shows clearly that there is no single culprit in autism. Each case stems from a unique jumble of genetic and environmental triggers, which makes figuring out one clear cause for every person’s disorder impossible.
This news may sound grim, but it contains a glimmer of hope. By uncovering huge numbers of genetic aberrations, scientists say, they have the opportunity to begin piecing together all of the disparate threads weaving through autism to find the commonalities.
A suite of new studies have identified numerous genetic changes that may have a role in the disorder, some of which could help scientists understand why boys are more vulnerable than girls, for instance. And some of the genes affected by these changes appear to be players in common networks of molecular activity in the brain. New work shows that many genetic changes impair nerve cell communication. Understanding this process and finding other common cellular activities that go awry may lead to powerful ways to combat autism, regardless of what caused it.