Autism researchers may be closer to discovering why autism affects boys more than four times as often as girls. A new gene variant. known as CACNA1G, which is located on chromosome 17, was found overwhelmingly on boys with autism. Analysis of the DNA of 1,046 members of families with at least two sons suffering from autism revealed that a variant of the gene CACNA1G, located on chromosome 17, was consistently associated with autism, the researchers reported.
Researchers noted that CACNA1G is a key factor in how calcium moves between cells and is “present in about 40 percent of the population.” Naturally, more research is needed to determine exactly how this gene affects or perhaps causes autism, but the news is certainly a positive step forward in the development in the search for a cure.
For more information about autism, go to http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm, operated by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.