Autism.... why is it considered a "genetic" disease?

Why is autism genetic? What gene is responcible for this disease? Has that gene even been isolated? Does anyone know any good sites where I can find (reliable) published journals and articles on autism besides pubmed?

"The sibling risk of autism is 50 to 100 times greater than the risk observed in the general population颅, a difference that implies genetic factors."
But . . .
"There might be six or more genes that have to come together in one individual in the right form to lead to autism,"
http://faculty.washington.edu/dawson/Cur...

Twin studies are also very important in determining how "inheritable" autism is.

My niece is autistic. If she had a fraternal twin (different genes) that twin would be no more likely to be autistic than a sibling born at any other time. But if she had an identical twin (same genes) the odds would be as much as 95% that this twin would be autistic. That clearly points to genetics. BUT it's not 100%, and the level of autism might be substantially different. (one high-functioning & one low-functioning). So there is clearly another factor than genetics.

Prolly because the chomosomes dont separate right.

The gene has not been found yet in most autistic disorders. The only one that has been found is the gene for Rett Syndrome which is an ASD. RS is considered the "rosetta stone" for other autistic disorders since the gene has been isolated which could lead to treatments and help to find the gene responsible for other ASDs. www.rettsyndrome.org

Hi there,

The factors that cause autism is not yet fully known.
That's why it's pictorial symbol is an "unfinished puzzle".
Until recently [say last 50 years], autism was thought to have generated due to bad parenting and abuse [i.e. external factors]. However, very recently scientific researches in this area are revealing that autism has a genetic component too, among other factors. It's a neuro-biological disorder and siblings of autistic individual have higher record of developing autism themselves than the normal population [i.e. 1 in 150 versus 1 in 20].
Hence, autism is linked, but *not* limited to genes.
Scientists are still trying to find out other factors that cause autism. So, in a nutshell, autitism is a very complex disorder , the causes of which is still not fully known.

For recent scientific researches on links between autism and genes, please visit the following links:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/636934...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/605517...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/531387...

Also, you may like to search the terms "autism" and "genes" on the search engine: http://scholar.google.com/

Hope it helps a little.

Regards,
Anna.

We study autism in our labs.. it's called a complex disorder meaning they believe several genes are involved. Some genes are already suggested. You should contact the Genetics Dept. at the University of Chicago to do a new test called "microarray testing" which is a full scale genome screen. Its now catching about 10% of abnormalities - which is still not high but better than the usual testing available.