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Autistic Symptomatology in PWS: Examining Behavioral and
Neurobiological Similarities between PWS and Autism Spectrum Disorders
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Principal investigator is Anastasia Dimitropoulos, Ph.D.
Expected Significance
Current findings suggest individuals
with PWS exhibit behaviors characteristic of autism, including deficits in
social relatedness. Examining the PWS behavioral phenotype in relation to other
neurodevelopmental disorders biologically linked to the 15q – q13 region (such
as autism) is critical to uncovering the genetic mechanisms involved for PWS and
understanding the behavior and biological similarities and differences between
PWS and autism will also aid in illuminating a probable genetic pathway to
autism. The PWS phenotypic evidence also suggests that over-expression of
maternal genes in the 15q – q13 region (m-UPD) may be associated with increased
social impairment as compared to other causal mechanism of PWS. This could have
profound implications on the treatment of children with both PWS and autism.
edited:
03/23/2010
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