Thirty Genes Linked to Intellectual Disability Identified

About 1-3% of the world’s population possess some form of intellectual disability. But, half of the cases are linked to poor nutrition and unknown genetic factors.

A set of 30 inherited recessive genes that play a role in intellectual disability have been identified.

The new findings, published in the online journal Molecular Psychiatry, could be applied to DNA screenings in determining the possibility of a couple producing a child with intellectual disability.

Seven Genes Causing X-linked Intellectual Disability Identified
X-linked intellectual disability is due to defective genes on the X-chromosome is mainly found in men and affects brain signalling pathways.

‘Thirty novel candidate genes that possess a strong potential for causing intellectual disability can be applied to DNA screenings to determine the possibility of a couple producing a child with the disorder.’

"The implications are enormous," said principal investigator Saima Riazuddin, Professor at University of Maryland School of Medicine in the US.

"The next phase of our study is to come up with therapeutic options and personalized protocols that could help patients improve their intellectual function," Riazuddin said.

Intellectual disability, or ID (previously known as mental retardation), becomes apparent in children before the age of 18 and affects, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 213 million people around the world.

Intellectual Disability Associated With Protein Regulation
A 40-year mystery for a family beset by a rare intellectual disability has been solved by genetics researchers at the University of Adelaide.

The disorder, which is measured by an intelligence quotient below 70, significantly limits an individual's intellectual ability and practical skills.

The new study presents the outcomes of a five-year investigation that was conducted over three continents.

Both Autism and Intellectual Disability Linked to Same Mutated Gene
Coexistence of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability raised doubts about both disorders sharing similar genetic causes.

In order to identify potential genetic causes of intellectual disability, investigators assembled a test group of 121 families in rural Pakistan, in which there was a higher incidence of the disorder and consanguineous marriages (marriages between blood relations).

More than 15,000 DNA samples were collected, which were analyzed both in the Netherlands and at University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute of Genomic Sciences (IGS), using next-generation genetic sequencing.

Intellectual Disability Caused by Too Much Protein HUWE1
2 to 3 % of the children are born with an intellectual disability that could be possibly by a genetic defect, but in 80% of these cases, we do not know – yet - which genes are responsible.

From an initial pool of 2,000 possible genes, the study categorized 30 novel candidate genes possessing a strong potential for causing ID -- and possibly other brain disorders as well.

Source-IANS