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A definitive cause for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has remained elusive, although the best picture so far seems to be one of a mix of genetic and environmental factors. This suggests that any genes involved with the condition by necessity are being passed on from generation to generation. A new study now suggests that these genes are being positively selected for.
The study, published in PLOS Genetics[open,DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1006618][DX], looked at the prevalence of alleles, or gene variants, commonly associated with an increased risk of ASD. The researchers discovered that these variants were found in much larger numbers than would be expected by chance, and they suggest that this may be because they are also linked to other genes implicated in cognitive ability.
The authors write that this positive selection between the genes thought to contribute to autism and those that might promote intelligence may explain why autism is such a prevalent condition, especially when it seems like it would have been selected against during human evolution.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 07 2017, @02:24PM (1 child)
Anybody read the article deeply enough to find sample sizes? Anything less than thousands is not going to confirm or deny anything.
These the numbers you're looking for? I don't know how to interpret them, but the sample size seems quite large to me.
Phenotypic Trait | Sample size | Reference
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | (ADHD) 2,064 trios, 896 cases, and 2,455 controls | 27
Autism Spectrum Disorder | (ASD) | 5,305 ASD cases and 5,305 pseudocontrols | 7
Bipolar Disorder (BP) | 11,974 cases and 51,792 controls | 26
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) | 9,240 cases and 9,519 controls | 28
Schizophrenia (SCZ) | 36,989 cases and 113,075 controls | 23
Source:
Original text http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006618/ [plos.org]
S6 Table. Details of the GWAS summary statistics used in the present study.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday March 07 2017, @04:10PM
Thanks - 5000 is large enough to draw some conclusions, if the data cooperates.
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