http://www.smh.com.au/world/science/genetic-link-to-adhd-discovered-20100930-15zdy.html
Genetic link to ADHD discovered October 1, 2010 PARIS: For years they have dumped at the back of the class the pupils who are impulsive, hyperactive and unable to concentrate at the back of the class. But a growing number of health experts and advocates say such children are not cases of bad behaviour or poor parenting but have a medical condition: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Their case has been boosted by a study that has uncovered the first direct evidence that ADHD has a genetic cause. The evidence, published in the medical journal The Lancet by British specialists, is based on a comparison of the genetic code of 366 children with ADHD and 1047 without it. The ADHD children were likelier to have small but important segments of DNA that were missing or duplicated in their genome. These segments, copy number variations, act like a control valve over genes, which make the body's proteins. ''We've known for many years that ADHD may well be genetic because it tends to run in families. What's really exciting is that we've found the first direct genetic link,'' said Anita Thapar, a professor of neuropsychiatric genetics at Cardiff University, Wales. But a long road lies ahead before ADHD is fully understood and a cure emerges, the authors caution. ''ADHD is not caused by a single genetic change but is likely caused by a number of genetic changes interacting with as-yet unidentified environmental factors,'' said a fellow researcher, Kate Langley. Agence France-Presse [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
