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Biomedical subjects

Mary Coleman

Publications and source records attributed to Mary Coleman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Mutation screening of the ARX gene in patients with autism.

Mutations in the Aristaless related homeobox (ARX) gene are associated with a broad spectrum of disorders, including nonsyndromic X-linked mental retardation, sometimes associated with epilepsy, as well as syndromic forms with brain abnormalities and abnormal genitalia. Furthermore, ARX mutations have been described in a few patients with autism or autistic features. In this study, we screened the ARX gene in 226 male patients with autism spectrum disorders and mental retardation; 42 of the patients had epilepsy. The mutation analysis was performed by direct sequencing of all exons and flanking regions. No ARX mutations were identified in any of the patients tested. These findings indicate that mutations in the ARX gene are very rare in autism.

Autistic Disorder↗

Autism and phenylketonuria.

Phenylketonuria (PKU) has been also reported in children with infantile autism (IA); however, the frequency of this association is variably reported. Patients with various forms of hyperphenylalaninemia (HPA) were evaluated applying two methods: the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). A total of 243 patients were investigated, 97 with classical PKU, 62 identified by neonatal screening, and 35 late diagnosed. None out of 62 patients with classic PKU diagnosed early met criteria for autism. In the group of 35 patients diagnosed late, two boys (5.71%) ages 16 and 13 years fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for autism. The present study confirms that classical PKU is one of the causes of autism, but the prevalence seems to be very low.

Adolescent↗

Analysis of ten candidate genes in autism by association and linkage.

We studied the possible involvement of ten candidate genes in autism: proenkephalin, prodynorphin, and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 2 (opioid metabolism); tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine receptors D2 and D5, monoamine oxidases A and B (monoaminergic system); brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and neural cell adhesion molecule (involved in neurodevelopment). Thirty-eight families with two affected siblings and one family with two affected half-siblings, recruited by the Paris Autism Research International Sibpair Study (PARIS), were tested using the transmission disequilibrium test and two-point affected sib-pair linkage analysis. We found no evidence for association or linkage with intragenic or linked markers. Our family sample has good power for detecting a linkage disequilibrium of 0.80. Thus, these genes are unlikely to play a major role in the families studied, but further studies in a much larger sample would be needed to highlight weaker genetic effects.

Alleles↗