U-M Leading National Effort To Find The Cause Of Autism

http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=3085

University of Michigan researchers are leading an 11-university
consortium to gather and bank DNA samples from 3,000 autism patients
over
the next three years.
The Simons Simplex Collection Autism Research Initiative,
expected to
cost $10 million over its first two years, is being spearheaded by
Catherine
Lord, director of the U-M Autism and Communication Disorders Center.
The consortium also includes: Yale University, Harvard
University,
Boston University, Columbia University, Washington University, the
University of Washington, the University of Illinois-Chicago, Emory
University, McGill University in Montreal and the University of
California,
Los Angeles (UCLA).
"It's an exciting opportunity," Lord said. "Collecting this
data will
greatly speed up the process of finding the causes of autism."
The Simons initiative, begun by billionaire money manager Jim
Simons
and his wife, Marilyn, was set up with the goal of investing $100
million
toward finding a cure for the developmental disorder. The Center for
Disease
Control estimates that between one and three of every 500 children
contract
some form of the disease.
While there are core deficits that define Autism Spectrum
Disorders
(ASD) there is also a great deal of heterogeneity among children and
adults
with ASD in terms of behaviors, level of functioning and co-morbid
conditions such as mental retardation or obsessive compulsive
disorder.
Recent findings in the molecular genetics of autism and in
family
transmission patterns suggest that there are likely several, if not
many,
autisms. Researchers say it is important to identify subtypes of
autism that
are associated with risk factors or etiologies in order to develop
appropriate treatments or prevention strategies.
The Simons Initiative to create a collection of simplex
(families with
just one child with autism) is aimed to support research across a
range of
areas with an adequate sample to address different sub-types.
The Simons Initiative consists of both senior and junior
investigator
support as well as the creation of a bank of cell lines and
phenotypic data
that will be available for scientists around the world.
The concept of a publicly available (through application by
scientists) databank builds on the example of the Autism Genetic
Recourse
Exchange (AGRE), created by Cure Autism Now several years ago as well
as
large scale research projects such as the Women's Health Initiative.
The Cure Autism Now effort focused on families where two or more
siblings have autism but the 11-university effort will tackle the 90
percent
of autism cases where the patient is the only member of the family
with
autism.
Families will be recruited to participate in an initial
assessment and
then invited into other research projects as work continues. The
Simons
Initiative will be carried out in existing university-based clinics by
individual investigators from different universities throughout North
America.
+ Read more: http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=3085