Editorial Comment: Fraternal Twins With Autism, Severe Cognitive Deficit, and Epilepsy: Diagnostic Role of Chromosomal Microarray Analysis

This article by Dr. Imitola and colleagues reports a case of monozygotic twins with pathogenic copy-number changes that include biallelic deletions of the neurexin-1 (NRXN1) gene. This case wonderfully highlights several of the salient aspects of the genetic features of autism. First, it is worth emphasizing that autism is indeed a neurogenetic disorder. In fact, the reported heritability of autism approaches 0.9 (90%). It is always important to emphasize this fact to families and to continue to advocate for timely and appropriate immunizations of all children—not hindered by the unsubstantiated fear of immunization-invoked autism.
Source: Seminars in Pediatric Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research