What Genetic Testing May Tell You
Genetic testing cannot tell you anything definitive about autism at this point it may be able to tell you about some other genetic conditions, should you be concerned. One of these tests may inform you of:
- The chances that your future children may develop autism.
- What kinds of services and treatment may best benefit your child.
- Other health issues or concerns related to the genetic mutation that caused your childs autism. Some genetic disorders have been associated with autism. These include tuberous sclerosis, benign tumors that grow on the brain and other organs, and Fragile X syndrome, a condition that causes intellectual disabilities.
Evidence For Heritability From Family Adoption And Twin Studies
A study of 894 ADHD probands and 1135 of their siblings aged 517 years old found a ninefold increased risk of ADHD in siblings of ADHD probands compared with siblings of controls . Adoption studies suggest that the familial factors of ADHD are attributable to genetic factors rather than shared environmental factors with the most recent one reporting rates of ADHD to be greater among biological relatives of non-adopted ADHD children than adoptive relatives of adopted ADHD children. The adoptive relatives had a risk for ADHD like the risk in relatives of control children .
Twin studies rely on the difference between the within-pair similarities of monozygotic twin pairs, who are genetically identical, and dizygotic twin pairs, who share, on average, 50% of their segregating genes. The mean heritability across 37 twin studies of ADHD or measures of inattentiveness and hyperactivity is 74% . A similar heritability estimate of around 80% was seen in a study of MZ and DZ twins, full siblings, and maternal and paternal half-siblings . The heritability is similar in males and females and for the inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive components of ADHD .
Fig. 1
This Is A Great Time To Parent A Child With Autism
I am grateful that we live in the times that we do. So much new information has been discovered about autism. We live in the age of the internet and I can connect with another autism mom who lives several states or even countries over and talk about our shared experiences. I am grateful to have things like iPads that not only help my son communicate but also gives us a chance to share a moment while watching one of his favorite YouTube clips. A tip of my cap to the families that went before us. They really helped pave the way for the benefits my son has now. I hope I can do the same for the ones coming behind us.
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Find Other Parents Who Will Understand And Support You
It always has been invaluable to have other parents who are going through the same thing as you are, to call them up and say I cant believe this is happening to me today. Because to the rest of the community, the things that happen to us, theyre really not the norm.Ruth Singer Strunck, the mom of two young adults with autism
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Autism Linked To Inherited Gene Mutations Particularly From Dad
Scientists use whole-exome sequencing to pinpoint autism genetic link.
Autism Linked to Fathers Age
April 4, 2012 Joslyn Gray, 38, of Drexel Hill, Pa., resisted her pediatricians recommendation that she have her 4-year-old son tested for autism. She didnt think he fit the classic description of autism.
He showed emotion. He showed affection toward her. That wouldnt be possible for someone with autism, Gray believed.
I didnt understand what autism was and the vast spectrum of the disorder, said Gray, who blogs for Babble.com, a Disney-owned online parenting magazine . I got him evaluated because I didnt want to be seen as a mom in denial.
Grays son was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome a higher functioning form of autism at age 4. In hindsight, Gray said she could see how his symptoms progressed until his diagnosis, and his diagnosis prompted her to have her daughter tested too. Two years later, in January 2012, her daughter, now 10 years old, received the same diagnosis as her brother.
The latest statistics released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that autism spectrum disorder increased by 23 percent from 2006 to 2008 to include nearly one in 88 children.
Experts said the growing numbers reflect an all-encompassing disorder that just as often includes children who speak or dont speak, make eye or dont make eye contact, recognize their names or not.
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Candidate Gene Association Studies
Early molecular genetic studies of ADHD sought to associate ADHD with genes that had some a priori plausibility as being involved in its etiology. Because the drugs that treat ADHD target dopaminergic or noradrenergic transmission, many studies examined candidate genes in these pathways. Results were frequently contradictory . In the meta-analyses of Gizer et al. , eight candidate DNA variants showed a statistically significant association with ADHD across multiple studies. These variants implicated six genes: the serotonin transporter gene , the dopamine transporter gene , the D4 dopamine receptor gene , the D5 dopamine receptor gene , the serotonin 1B receptor gene and a gene coding for a synaptic vesicle regulating protein known as SNAP25. A meta-analysis covering all genetic association studies of adults with ADHD reported a significant association between adult ADHD and BAIAP2 . BAIAP2 is involved in neuronal proliferation, survival, and maturation and dendritic spine morphogenesis and may affect neuronal growth-cone guidance. These findings were significant even after Bonferroni correction . For both the child and adult meta-analyses, the strength of each association, as measured by the odds ratio, is small, less than 1.5.
Greatest Heredity From Mother
Using various Norwegian registeries, such as the Birth Registry, the Prescription Registry and the Patient Registry, she linked data from parents and children from the 1960s to the present day. Solberg found a clear connection between the parents’ ADHD diagnosis and the children’s diagnoses, which confirms previous findings. Absolutely most at risk were sons with parents who were both diagnosed with ADHD:
– 40 percent of these boys are themselves diagnosed with the condition, says Solberg.
The greatest inheritance was from the mother to the children. Compared with if only the father had ADHD, there was a higher risk of getting the diagnosis if only the mother had the diagnosis.
– A hypothesis is that an ADHD diagnosis in the mother can affect the upbringing environment to a greater extent than an ADHD diagnosis in the father, says Solberg.
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Quit The Guessing Game With Sneakpeek Traits
Despite the research, pinpointing exactly how your kid will turn outand especially why theyll turn out that wayis like finding a needle in a haystack. Comparing Mom and Dads traits will allow you to make educated guesses but to learn about your childs traits, youll need to look at his DNA, not yours. And for that, you can use the SneakPeek Traits test.
While you wont foretell if your daughter gets into Harvard or your son wins a Nobel Prize, you might be surprised at just how much valuable information is written right into their DNA.
- Height as an adult
- Hair color and texture
- And so much more!
Information about your babys traits is only a quick cheek swab and lab test away. Theres no reason to spend the next 18+ years musing over their future when you can find out earlier than ever with SneakPeek Traits. If only the test showed whether your kiddo shares your inquisitiveness and curiosity, too.
NPR. Which Genes Make You Taller? A Whole Bunch Of Them, It Turns Out.
Family Education. 8 Traits Babies Inherit From Their Mother.
New York Times. Why Do We Inherit Mitochondrial DNA Only From Our Mothers?
What Doesnt Cause Adhd
Although itâs been debated, research does not show that ADHD is caused by eating too much sugar or watching a lot of TV.
Other factors that have largely been ruled out as root causes of ADHD include:
- Parenting styles. There are techniques that parents can use which help support a child who has ADHD, though.
- Diet. A healthy diet is good for the brain, but no particular food or dietary pattern has been shown to cause ADHD.
- Playing video games. There is no evidence that playing video games causes or worsens ADHD. At the same time, some kids with ADHD may be drawn to fast-paced games on the screen. Children with ADHD may âhyperfocusâ while playing video games, which can lead to spending too much time playing video games. So while the games themselves donât cause ADHD, theyâre something that parents may need to limit, especially in children with ADHD.
- Stress or unstable
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What Is Adhd From Is It Hereditary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a brain disorder with a number of likely causes though the medical community still cant pinpoint exactly which one explains the symptoms of ADHD. Researchers suspect that a gene involved in the creation of dopamine, a chemical that controls the brains ability to maintain regular and consistent attention may be traced back to ADHD. But conclusive studies are far outnumbered by ADHD myths and misperceptions today.
ADHD is not caused by bad parenting, too much sugar, or too many video games. It is a brain-based, biological disorder. Brain imaging studies and other research show many differences in the brains of individuals with ADHD. Other studies reveal that a child with ADHD is four times as likely to have had a relative also diagnosed with the condition.1
What Are The Signs Of Adhd
All kids struggle at times to pay attention, listen and follow directions, sit still, or wait their turn. But for kids with ADHD, the struggles are harder and happen more often.
Kids with ADHD can show signs in any or all these areas:
- Inattentive. Kids who are inattentive have trouble focusing their attention, concentrating, and staying on task. They may not listen well to directions, may miss important details, and may not finish what they start. They may daydream or dawdle too much. They may seem absent-minded or forgetful, and lose track of their things.
- Hyperactive. Kids who are hyperactive are fidgety, restless, and easily bored. They may have trouble sitting still, or staying quiet when needed. They may rush through things and make careless mistakes. They may climb, jump, or roughhouse when they shouldn’t. Without meaning to, they may act in ways that disrupt others.
- Impulsive. Kids who are impulsive act too quickly before thinking. They often interrupt, might push or grab, and find it hard to wait. They may do things without asking for permission, take things that aren’t theirs, or act in ways that are risky. They may have emotional reactions that seem too intense for the situation.
Sometimes parents and teachers notice signs of ADHD when a child is very young. But it’s normal for little kids to be distracted, restless, impatient, or impulsive these things don’t always mean that a child has ADHD.
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Are You Born With Adhd What You Should Know
Its a common misconception that ADHD is something that you can grow out of, develop at any stage in your life and is curable. The fact is, ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means that the brain hasnt developed neurotypically from birth. Research suggests that a brain with ADHD is likely to show impairments in various areas, and that these impairments are evident from birth. As with any biological disorder, a vital question is whether the biology can be inherited. This area has received a lot of attention over the years and a lot of research supports the fact that someone with ADHD is likely to have inherited the condition however, this is not always the case.
Although there exists substantial medical evidence to support the above, there still remain many myths and misconceptions about whether ADHD is caused by external factors such as bad parenting or a poor diet.
In this blog, we will consider evidence that ADHD has genetic and biological roots and how external factors can exacerbate symptoms of ADHD but not cause them. Furthermore, we will provide some advice on how to moderate symptoms of ADHD by making external environmental changes.
Common Variant Adhd As A Polygenic Disorder
The GWAS analyses also showed that much of ADHDs heritability is due to the polygenic effects of many common variants each having very small effects. The SNP heritability was 0.22, which is about one-third of ADHDs heritability computed from twin studies . The polygenic architecture for ADHD was confirmed by estimating polygenic risk scores in one subset of the sample and showing that it predicted ADHD, in a dose-dependent manner, in a validation subset. As seen for other psychiatric disorders , the variance explained by these risk scores was low .
Further evidence for the validity of the ADHDs polygenic background comes from analyses showing that the relevant SNPs were enriched for annotations implicating conserved regions of the genome and for regulatory elements specific to the central nervous system. The discovery of a polygenic susceptibility to ADHD does not show which DNA variants comprise the susceptibility. It does, however, support the idea that more genome-wide significant variants will be discovered in larger samples.
Fig. 3
Some of the genetic correlations in Fig. are entirely novel. These include ADHDs genetic correlations with medical outcomes and with demographics . There are, however, some consistent findings in the prior literature, which suggest that people with ADHD are more likely to have larger families and more likely to die prematurely .
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What You Should Know If You Or Your Child Has Adhd
Although there is still some research to be done to explain the links between genetics and ADHD, we can say a few things about ADHD with some certainty:
ADHD can present in a number of different ways
ADHD can manifest as hyperactivity, impulsiveness, inattentiveness or a combination of one or more. This is not to say that if someone shows signs of one or more of these behaviours they necessarily have ADHD, but if you notice these symptoms appearing prominently in daily life, there may be some level of ADHD present.
You cant get rid of ADHD by trying to focus harder, nor can you completely grow out of it
ADHD is closely linked with genetics and brain development, and so you cannot expect to remove ADHD forcibly by simply trying to focus harder at work or school. ADHD is something that can be managed, but not cured. With professional guidance, ADHD can become much easier to deal with.
For many people, ADHD is something commonly associated with children, but that is not always the case. ADHD can often continue into adult life, sometimes becoming more severe if undiagnosed and untreated. It can also lead to other difficulties such as anxiety, depression and panic attacks.
Having ADHD doesnt make you unintelligent
Having a child with ADHD doesnt make you a bad parent
Your child can still be successful if they have ADHD
There are lots of ways to treat ADHD
Where Does Autism Come From When It Doesnt Run In The Family
Autism genetics expert Ivan Iossifov breaks down recent research that sheds light on how unaffected parents can pass autism onto their child.
A quick Google search for autism causes is all it takes to learn that scientists believe the disorder has a strong genetic component. So if theres no genetic history in the family, where does a childs autism come from?
A key fact has come to light within the last couple of years: many autism-causing genetic mutations are spontaneous. They occur in the affected child, but in neither parent. Mutations in this category are not directly inherited from the parents, explains Assistant Professor Ivan Iossifov, one of several CSHL scientists who has pioneered the study of the role of spontaneous mutations in autism causation.
A childs genome is a patchwork stitched together from the genetic cloth contained in the mothers egg and fathers sperm. In theory, that means that children are cut from exactly the same cloth as their parents. But in reality, there are virtually always small factory defects in that clothmutations that spontaneously arise during the sperm or eggs creation.
Spontaneous mutations cause as much as half of all autism in situations in which only one child in the family has autism. This and other analysis comes from a study Iossifov published in 2015. He and his team looked at about 2,500 families with a single affected child and investigated the causal link to spontaneous mutations.
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Is Adhd A Real Medical Disorder
- ADHD is Real Nearly every mainstream medical, psychological, and educational organization in the United States long ago concluded that Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is a real, brain-based medical disorder. These organizations also concluded that children and adults with ADHD benefit from appropriate treatment.
Adhd More Common In Offspring Of Mothers With Genetic Serotonin Deficiencies
- Date:
- JAMA and Archives Journals
- Summary:
- Children whose mothers are genetically predisposed to have impaired production of serotonin appear more likely to develop attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life, according to a new report.
Children whose mothers are genetically predisposed to have impaired production of serotonin appear more likely to develop attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
“Serotonin is a hormone and transmitter that performs a broad range of physiological functions in the human body,” the authors write as background information in the article. “In addition to its transmitter function in the mature nervous system, serotonin has an important role during development” it is involved in the formation and differentiation of neurons, their migration to their proper position and the arrangement of the synapses between them. The human genome encodes two enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of serotonin previous studies have suggested alterations in these genes or enzymes in pregnant females could result in birth defects.
This study was supported by the Research Council of Norway, Western Norway Regional Health Authority and the University of Bergen.
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