Autism is a broad-spectrum neurodevelopmental disorder that affects individuals to various degrees. Some with autism are high functioning, living independent lives while others suffer severe intellectual disability and require intensive care. Despite massive research efforts, the etiology of autism is still poorly understood. The author of this paper, Genetic Variation across Phenotypic Severity of Autism, investigates the genetic factors associated with the varying degrees of the autism phenotypes. The latest evidence suggests a two-sided model. On one side are patients with more severe intellectual disability that are impacted to a greater degree by disrupting gene variants. On the other side are patients with high-functioning intellectual capacity that are impacted to a greater degree by common risk gene variants.
Elaine Miller – Trends in Genetics Post 4
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