| Cause of Dyslexia
on Chromosome 18
A pre-school test
to identify children with a predisposition to dyslexia might be possible in the
future with the discovery of a genetic link to the disorder. A
study of more than 200 families of children who are dyslexic has revealed that
a region of chromosome 18 – one of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes – is strongly
associated with the condition. Scientists
from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford say that the biggest
dyslexia study of its kind has identified what could turn out to be the most important
gene involved in causing dyslexia. "Over
the next few years, we will be looking at the genes most likely to be associated
with the disorder," he said. 208
families were studied in the research. They
correlated their findings with the pattern of inheritance and looked for links
with specific regions of each of the 23 pairs of chromosomes, leading them to
a region of chromosome 18. "It is rare to find such a strong link between a genetic
region and complex disorders." Read
the full article  With
many thanks to the excellent Independent
News. |