Genetic 'variation' linked to autism

ATLANTA, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- People with a genetic flaw in a particular chromosome have a higher risk of autism and schizophrenia, U.S. researchers say.

While both conditions are known to be influenced by genetic factors, this is the first time a specific flaw or variation leading to a very high risk has been identified, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.

Researchers at Emory University analyzed the DNA of more than 23,000 patients with autism, developmental delay, intellectual disability or schizophrenia and say they detected a genetic deletion known as a copy number variation on a particular area -- chromosome 17 -- in 24 of those patients.

Someone with this deletion may be almost 14 times more likely to develop autism or schizophrenia than a person without it, David Ledbetter, one of the study's authors, says.

No such deletion was detected in any of the more than 52,000 healthy people acting as controls, the researchers said.

"We have uncovered a copy number variation that confers a very high risk for ASD, schizophrenia, and neurodevelopmental disorders," lead author Daniel Moreno-De-Luca says.