Today is the day, were I found an abundance of news related to autism. On June 12, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, published research that explains how genetic mutations affect developmental abnormalities in children with autism. The link takes you to the University of San Diego press release.
“We really don’t know what causes autism, but this research represents a solid starting point,” said Sarah Dunsmore, Ph.D., program director with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, which partly supported the study. “The work suggests that genetic mutations that alter the shape or folding of adhesion proteins in the nervous system influence their interactions. This is another example of how research on basic biological questions, such as the three-dimensional structures of proteins in the brain, can yield valuable medical insights.”
