Many hands make light work.
That?s part of the reason Johns Hopkins researchers are sharing a genetic database of thousands of patients with autism and their direct relatives. Researchers at Johns Hopkins? McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine hope the shared data will speed autism research even while they use the data to track down the genetic roots of the complex disease.
“That?s the fundamental thing about science. Different people look at the same problem in different ways,” said Aravinda Chakravarti, director of the Center for Complex Disease Genomics at Johns Hopkins.
The Johns Hopkins data, coordinated with a similar data release from the Autism Consortium, provide the most detailed look to date at the genetic variation patterns in families with autism.
“Autism is a difficult enough genetic mystery for which we need all of the best minds and approaches to help unravel the role of genes in this neuropsychiatric illness,” Chakravarti said.
Autism is a complex disorder, often referred to as autism spectrum disorders, because symptoms can range from mildly frustrating to nearly debilitating. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), symptoms include impaired communication and social skills, and repetitive behaviors. The disorders affect an estimated 3.4 of every 1,000 children ages 3 to 10.
Chakravarti and his team analyzed whole genomes from 1,250 autistic individuals, their siblings and their parents collected across the United States by many researchers funded by NIMH.
The Autism Consortium also released data similarly acquired from 3,000 individuals who are either affected by autism spectrum disorders or are family members of individuals with autism.
“Today?s release of genetic and phenotypic data on autism marks a significant achievement for the autism research community,” NIMH Director Thomas Insel said in a statement.
