One out of every 166 children is affected. There is a new case every 20 minutes. It is more common than leukemia, muscular dystrophy, juvenile diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined.
These startling statistics describe the widespread impact of autism spectrum disorder, a group of pervasive developmental syndromes which include autism, Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental diseasenot otherwise specified (PDO-NOS). UIC physician-researchers Bennett Leventhal, MD, and Edwin Cook, MD, are finding ways to unlock the mysteries of these disorders by studying the genetics of autism.
Cook says it now appears that autism is highly genetic; if there is one child in a family with autism then there is 1 in 20 chance of a sibling having autism. "Autism genetics come under the category of what is called complex genetics," says Cook, who is director of the Laboratory of Developmental Neuroscience. "It probably requires at least 20 risk-gene variants contributing to the disorder and not always the same genes."
Leventhal and Cook have cowritten numerous studies on the genetics of autism, and Cook's research has already allowed him to define three candidate genes for autism. These research breakthroughs are crucial steps for coping with a disorder that has a profound impact. "Children and families living with autism face enormous challenges over a lifetime," says Cook. "Autism brings you together, if it doesn't tear you apart. That is why we must find answers to the mystery of autism soon."