Infantile Autism: A Genetic Study of 21 Twin Pairs

Abstract

Summary A systematic study was made of a representative group of 21 same‐sexed twin pairs (11 MZ and 10 DZ) in which at least one twin showed the syndrome of infantile autism. There was a 36 per cent pair‐wise concordance rate for autism in MZ pairs compared with o per cent concordance in DZ pairs. The concordance for cognitive abnormalities was 82 per cent in MZ pairs and 10 per cent in DZ pairs. It was concluded that there were important hereditary influences concerning a cognitive deficit which included but was not restricted to autism. In 12 out of 17 pairs discordant for autism, the presence of autism was associated with a biological hazard liable to cause brain damage. It was concluded that brain injury in the infancy period may lead to autism on its own or in combination with a genetic predisposition. Uncertainty remains on both the mode of inheritance and exactly what is inherited.

Heritability of autism spectrum disorders: a meta‐analysis of twin studies

“…Applying appropriate ascertainment corrections and maximum likelihood estimation, our study produced tetrachoric twin correlations and heritability estimates for all studies published to date, inclusive of studies that previously only reported proband‐wise concordant rates. The meta‐analytic heritability estimates ranged between 64% and 91% (despite diagnostic heterogeneity) and are in line with previous reports (Bailey et al., ; Colvert et al., ; Folstein & Rutter, ; Le Couteur et al., ; Lichtenstein et al., ; Nordenbæk et al., ; Ritvo, Freeman, Mason‐Brothers, Mo, & Ritvo, ; Rosenberg et al., ; Steffenburg et al., ; Taniai, Nishiyama, Miyachi, Imaeda, & Sumi, ).…”

Heritability of autism spectrum disorders: a meta‐analysis of twin studies

“…Applying appropriate ascertainment corrections and maximum likelihood estimation, our study produced tetrachoric twin correlations and heritability estimates for all studies published to date, inclusive of studies that previously only reported proband‐wise concordant rates. The meta‐analytic heritability estimates ranged between 64% and 91% (despite diagnostic heterogeneity) and are in line with previous reports (Bailey et al., ; Colvert et al., ; Folstein & Rutter, ; Le Couteur et al., ; Lichtenstein et al., ; Nordenbæk et al., ; Ritvo, Freeman, Mason‐Brothers, Mo, & Ritvo, ; Rosenberg et al., ; Steffenburg et al., ; Taniai, Nishiyama, Miyachi, Imaeda, & Sumi, ).…”

Frequency of the fragile X syndrome in infantile autism

“…to cause autism. This would be in line with research by Rutter (Folstein & Rutter 1977, Rutter 1983) who suggested that there is a basic cognitive language deficit in autism which, as it were, antedates the disturbance of social relatedness.…”

Chromosome Abnormalities in Infantile Autism and Other Childhood Psychoses: A Population Study of 66 Cases

“…prenatal or perinatal damage, early postnatal virus infections) to cause autism. This supports research by Folstein and Rutter (1977) and Rutter (1983) which suggests that there is a basic cognitive/ language deficit in autism which antedates the problems in relating socially. Four of the five boys with fra(xXq27) in the population with autism had greatly reduced prenatal and perinatal optimality, which might implicate additional braindamage in these cases.…”

Heritability of autism spectrum disorders: a meta‐analysis of twin studies

“…Applying appropriate ascertainment corrections and maximum likelihood estimation, our study produced tetrachoric twin correlations and heritability estimates for all studies published to date, inclusive of studies that previously only reported proband‐wise concordant rates. The meta‐analytic heritability estimates ranged between 64% and 91% (despite diagnostic heterogeneity) and are in line with previous reports (Bailey et al., ; Colvert et al., ; Folstein & Rutter, ; Le Couteur et al., ; Lichtenstein et al., ; Nordenbæk et al., ; Ritvo, Freeman, Mason‐Brothers, Mo, & Ritvo, ; Rosenberg et al., ; Steffenburg et al., ; Taniai, Nishiyama, Miyachi, Imaeda, & Sumi, ).…”

Frequency of the fragile X syndrome in infantile autism

“…to cause autism. This would be in line with research by Rutter (Folstein & Rutter 1977, Rutter 1983) who suggested that there is a basic cognitive language deficit in autism which, as it were, antedates the disturbance of social relatedness.…”

Chromosome Abnormalities in Infantile Autism and Other Childhood Psychoses: A Population Study of 66 Cases

“…prenatal or perinatal damage, early postnatal virus infections) to cause autism. This supports research by Folstein and Rutter (1977) and Rutter (1983) which suggests that there is a basic cognitive/ language deficit in autism which antedates the problems in relating socially. Four of the five boys with fra(xXq27) in the population with autism had greatly reduced prenatal and perinatal optimality, which might implicate additional braindamage in these cases.…”

Heritability of autism spectrum disorders: a meta‐analysis of twin studies

“…Applying appropriate ascertainment corrections and maximum likelihood estimation, our study produced tetrachoric twin correlations and heritability estimates for all studies published to date, inclusive of studies that previously only reported proband‐wise concordant rates. The meta‐analytic heritability estimates ranged between 64% and 91% (despite diagnostic heterogeneity) and are in line with previous reports (Bailey et al., ; Colvert et al., ; Folstein & Rutter, ; Le Couteur et al., ; Lichtenstein et al., ; Nordenbæk et al., ; Ritvo, Freeman, Mason‐Brothers, Mo, & Ritvo, ; Rosenberg et al., ; Steffenburg et al., ; Taniai, Nishiyama, Miyachi, Imaeda, & Sumi, ).…”

Frequency of the fragile X syndrome in infantile autism

“…to cause autism. This would be in line with research by Rutter (Folstein & Rutter 1977, Rutter 1983) who suggested that there is a basic cognitive language deficit in autism which, as it were, antedates the disturbance of social relatedness.…”

Chromosome Abnormalities in Infantile Autism and Other Childhood Psychoses: A Population Study of 66 Cases

“…prenatal or perinatal damage, early postnatal virus infections) to cause autism. This supports research by Folstein and Rutter (1977) and Rutter (1983) which suggests that there is a basic cognitive/ language deficit in autism which antedates the problems in relating socially. Four of the five boys with fra(xXq27) in the population with autism had greatly reduced prenatal and perinatal optimality, which might implicate additional braindamage in these cases.…”