Autism and Mental Retardation Genetics
Nowadays, there is a very wide range of conditions that fall under the umbrella of declaring someone of having intellectual disabilities. Autism and mental retardation are two of the most prevalent aside from Down’s syndrome. Defining these disabilities can be a bit of a hassle, but there are a few guidelines in which one must follow to determine which is which. Down’s syndrome is caused by a trisomy 21, a third 21st chromosome. In most cases, autism is known as idiopathic, or without a cause. Fragile X syndrome is a condition involving the changes in the X chromosome, or the sex-linked chromosome, which leads to the most common form of inherited mental retardation.
With autism, and the large amount of children born with it, eighty percent of those children had no identifiable cause. Five to ten percent of those children were secondary, and only three percent inherited the chromosomal anomaly.
To be considered mentally retarded, a person must have an IQ below 70 and significant limitations in at least two adaptive skills. Wherever mental retardation is studied, it makes up for about two percent of the population. Unlike autism, mental retardation has a vast amount of causes, almost limitless. Causes range from genetic disorders, metabolic disorders, chromosomal disorders, and others include pre-birth care or lack thereof. However, now there are neonatal screenings that can help predict mental retardation, and point us in the right steps to preventing it. Another way to determine MR (mental retardation) is to have a cytogenetic study done on an individual. A cytogenetic study is a study of the structure and function of a cell, especially focused on the genes. Hopefully with modern advances in technology we can take larger steps in preventing mental retardation.
As of today, we have not put all the pieces together for the involvement of MR. Currently there are more than fifty genes associated with syndromic X-linked mental retardation.
S. Holloway
This article caught my attention becuase I know a couple of kids that have autism. I know that these kids have real issues, and it's hard sometimes for these kids to function at a semi-normal level. This is a really good article and has a lot of good information in it. I learned a lot. -Magen
ReplyDeleteI really like this journal. A friend of mine was autistic. He was one of the smartest if not the smartest person I knew, at least when it came to school work.
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