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By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on September 20, 2010 

New research provides further clues as to why Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects four times more males than females.

Scientists from the Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) discovered that males who carry specific alterations of DNA on the sole X chromosome they carry are at high risk of developing ASD.

The research is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

ASD is a neurological disorder that affects brain functioning, resulting in challenges with communication and social interaction, unusual patterns of behavior, and often, intellectual deficits. ASD affects one in every 120 children and a startling one in 70 boys.

Though all of the causes of ASD are not yet known, research has increasingly pointed towards genetic factors. In recent years, several genes involved in ASD have successfully been identified.

Read in Full:  http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/09/20/male-autism-linked-to-dna/18437.html