A PAIR of variants of a single gene appear to double the risk of autism.
Rare mutations have been linked to autism before, but Joseph Buxbaum鈥檚 team at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York has shown that two variants in the SLC25A12 gene are much more common in families affected by autism than in the general population (American Journal of Psychiatry, vol 161, p 662). It is thought that variations in as many as 10 genes contribute to people鈥檚 risk of autism.
The SLC25A12 variants increase the production of ATP, the chemical that powers cells. Exactly why this increases the risk of autism is not clear. 鈥淏ut it does implicate a pathway,鈥� says Buxbaum.
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