Are there any ongoing SNP linkage/LD studies that you know of? If so, can you tell me where they are being performed, and where I can get more information on the details? I might also ask, since I'm a bit rusty on neurotransmitter pathways (and haven't read this article yet, I am about to, I promise!), what effect exactly might a polymorphism in a GABA receptor be expected to have on brain function? Is there a possibility that a polymorphism reducing or increasing GABA receptor function might contribute to Aspergers syndrome in heterozygous form, and to LFA or other, more severe, autistic spectrum disorders when an individual is homozygous for the polymorphism? Just a thought, and as I said, I have not yet read the article and have little specific knowledge of the genetics of Asperger's syndrome.
On a less scientific note, has anyone else noticed that a significant fraction of Aspies seemd to be named, or alternately related to someone who is named, Alex? My name is Alex, and I recall having seen perhaps two or three mentions of Aspies named Alex on various sites, such that they are unlikely to be referring to the same person. MY best freind is named Alex, and while he doesnt have AS, his little brother does. Its probably no more than a minor coincidence, but worth a few minutes' worth of searching. Im 17, adn only just recently diagnosed with AS, so I dont know if anyone has ever asked. It proabaly doesnt bear investigation. (Or not, who knows?) :mrgreen:
Ah well it was worth a try
Of course, it does all make sense, and I suppose that particular comment of mine was perhaps best suited to an OT forum. It was intended more as a humorous speculation than anything else, and is not to be taken the least bit seriously.
OK by nwo I have read the article, which didnt seem to have many answers for my questions, so I would like to know, does anyoe have anu idea about the questions mentioned in my first reply on this topic? (about SNP studies, not names!) I havent turned anything up, though I guess I havent technically looked yet.
that is interesting stuff, I would not be surprised at all if a major susceptibility polymorphism is located in an intron, introns have been overlooked until recently as candidates for SNP analysis. I wonder if that will pan out...
yeah, i no... :shock:
in english: they are now apparently searching in segments of DNA that were until recently thought to be useless because they dont make proteins, but are now being shown to have important functions, and are being increasingly studied in connection with heritable traits
The reason it interests me so much is that discovering the location of a susceptibility polymorphism could tell us what makes an Aspie tick, something of interest even, or perhaps especially, to those of us who neither need nor want any cure. I for one would like to knwo what exactly makes us different, not so that it may be fixed, but so that it can be studied. I personally consider myself a scientist, however young, and the most important question to any scientist/engineer/tinkerer/programmer is how does it work? And i would be quite surprised if there were many among us, scientists or no, who dont want to know the answer to that question every bit as much as I do.
[edited to replace ommitted words]
True as this may be, we have known how Huntington's disease works for years, and yet we have no cure, and that for a disease governed by a single dominant gene. In addition, unlike ASDs, you will have quite a time finding people who are against curing Huntington's disease, makign efforts to cure it less controversial than ASDs. And so, since ASDs are more complex than Huntingtons, more controversial, and further behind in terms of actual progress in pinpointing the cause(s), I think I can safely say that a cure is quite a ways off. Not that I'm complaining
If and when the causes of AS are determined, we will have plenty of time to prepare and to do our own research before any applications are possible.
What I am attempting to say is that once the causes are determined, there wont BE any applications for some time, this is why i mention Huntingtons, we have knwon how it works for a long time, and still no applications besides an expensive SNP assay (type of genetic test). ASDs are much harder to pinpoint, so we have time.
Thats would be extremely difficult, the way SNP linkage studies work, a cause could be found tomorrow or ten years from now (although ten years is a safer bet than tomorrow, IMHO)
Question for Stella:
how much Biology training have you had? I can tell by reading what you have written here that you have had some, cant tell how much. (i.e. do you have a degree, are you going on what you remember of high school biology, or somewhere in between?)
Nemidaelius: I have no "biology training" whatever.
But I do have a set of Encylcopaedia Britannicas in a large wooden bookcase which I bought specially to put them in.
It is fun to sit and read them whenever an idea comes up. :idea:
Stella Mallard
Self training counts;
My high school biology teacher wasnt particularly great either (not quite so spectacular as yours, though), I ended up teaching myself a lot of stuff.
I lack a frame of reference for this kind of treatment, the worst I can complain of is that my AP bio teacher tried to say that Van Der Wals forces (the intermolecular forces of polar molecules, she didnt know the name) were a type of covalent bond. (for those who have not studied chemistry/biology, this is ridiculous to the point of being stand-up material)
They would appear to have been unable to 'fix' you, Stella
that last post was by me.
I forgot to log in again :!:
silly old Stella :roll:
Stella Moo
Single mindedness may be all well and good, but let me tell you, when you have AS and ADHD at the smae time things get wierd! I can focus quite well on one thing... sometimes. Other times I feel like a dog in front of whom two bones are being dangled; one on either side; when I do this to my dog, he is so confused that he stops playing and goes away to rest for a while. That is more or less what happens to me.