Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Gene Study Spots Discovered that are Connected with Autism

 Autism is a spectrum of developmental disorders that impacts many aspects of life, such as communication, learning, behavior, and interactions. Every person is impacted differently, and the levels of severity vary from person to person. Scientists did not have a defined cause of the disorder, but they do believe that the condition is hereditary, and certain genetic conditions, such as Fragile X Syndrome or Down Syndrome can increase the chances of developing Autism. Autism is something that a person is born with, but symptoms do not typically show until a few years into a person’s life. Autism is not something that can be cured, but symptoms can be managed with therapy and other treatments. 


Researchers have now found that Autism is linked to 250 genes in the body. These genes impact mature neurons. These genes are also associated with schizophrenia. In other cases of slower development, genes tended to impact neurons in early stages of development. This proves that Autism is a genetic risk factor, caused by mutations in genes. This means that if scientists wanted to prevent or cure Autism, then the approach for the cure would be genetically targeted. In the past, families would attend genetic counseling to find out the risks for having autistic children, but could not do much if the chances of having an autistic child were high. 


Overall, I would love to see patients be cured from Autism, or have ways to prevent it. Life with Autism is very difficult because not everyone understands the complexity of the disorder, because of its large variety of effects. Autism is difficult to research since symptoms are so different in each patient. Any information that is discovered is crucial to finding a cure. Now that scientists know what genes are connected with Autism, the best way to approach the cure is to prevent it before it starts. However, I do think that treatments would be very expensive, and there would be a very small chance of insurance companies covering them. Insurance companies tend to only cover what is medically necessary, and Autism isn’t always a life threatening condition.


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