healthUpdated: Aug 18, 2020 15:13 ISTIn the new study, researchers have identified a subtype of autism arising from a cluster of genes that regulate cholesterol metabolism and brain development. The team identified the shared molecular roots between lipid dysfunction and autism through DNA analysis of brain samples--findings that they then confirmed by examining medical records of individuals with autism. Indeed, both children with autism and their parents had pronounced alterations in lipid blood, the analysis showed. Thousands of gene variants, both rare and common, have been implicated in autism, likely through an intricate and not-well understood interplay between genetic and environmental factors--both before and after birth. Individuals with autism were nearly twice as likely to have abnormal lipid tests results as those without autism.

Source: Hindustan Times August 18, 2020 09:33 UTC