Genetic Links

Some wrote to ask about the research showing potential genetic links with several conditions, including Autism. This is the information I received: A new study recently published in the Lancet, reported that an international group of scientists have identified genetic links among several conditions including ADHD, autism, depression, manic-depression (bi-polar), and schizophrenia, which could help explain the reason that some of these diagnoses seem to cluster in families. Jordan W. Smoller, MD, ScD, a psychiatry professor at Massachusetts General Hospital, reportedly explained that the portions of the genome identified (that appeared to increase the risk for these five conditions) also seemed to be involved in how calcium channels operate in the brain, which impact how brain cells communicate.