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Autism spectrum disorders: Molecular genetic advances
Author(s) -
Bacchelli Elena,
Maestrini Elena
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
american journal of medical genetics part c: seminars in medical genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.419
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1552-4876
pISSN - 1552-4868
DOI - 10.1002/ajmg.c.30078
Subject(s) - autism , heritability of autism , spectrum (functional analysis) , autism spectrum disorder , computational biology , psychology , genetics , biology , psychiatry , physics , quantum mechanics
Abstract Despite the strong genetic basis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), research efforts in the last decade have not been successful in the identification of confirmed susceptibility genes. We review the present status of genetic linkage, candidate gene, and association studies, pointing out the limitations of these approaches and the challenge of dealing with the clinical and genetic complexity of autism. Finally, we outline how recent technological and bioinformatic advances, together with an increasing understanding of the structure of the human genome, have set the stage to perform more comprehensive and well powered studies, possibly leading to a turning point in the understanding of the genetic basis of this devastating disorder. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.