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The analysis, which runs counter to decades of research, says environmental factors may be more important than genes in determining whether a child develops autism. The conclusion is roundly criticized by other autism experts.



Samantha Cameron, wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron, poses with Joshua Westcott, 8,
and Joshua Jones, 9, during a tour of Baston House School in Bromley, Kent, south east England,
before she officially opened the school, on June 9, 2011. The center is a new facility for children aged
from 5-16 who are affected by an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), including Asperger Syndrome.


By Alan Zarembo, Los Angeles Times
July 4, 2011, 1:03 p.m.


Environmental factors may be more important than genes in determining whether a child develops autism, according to a controversial new analysis of the disorder in twins.

That finding runs counter to decades of prior research, which has generally found that genetic inheritance is the biggest determinant of a child's risk of autism. The authors of the new study, published online Monday by the journal Archives of General Psychiatry, came to their conclusion after studying 192 pairs of identical and fraternal twins in which at least one twin met clinical criteria for the neurodevelopment disorder.
But the authors' conclusion that environmental influences — perhaps chemical exposures, infections, diet or stress levels — could be so influential was roundly criticized by other autism experts.

"I think they're really on shaky ground to say that," said Dr. Paul Law, director of the Interactive Autism Network at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.

"It's a massive claim," said Angelica Ronald, a behavior geneticist at Birkbeck University of London. "It flies in the face of the previous data. I don't see why the results have come out the way they have."

The study authors acknowledged that their calculations were subject to a very wide margin of error and thus could be incorrect. Still, they said that the analysis highlights the need for more research into environmental factors that may contribute to autism.


More at: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-autism-20110705,0,2826969.story




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