Genetics next step in brain researchRSS Feed

Disorders of the brain can be diagnosed by a simple DNA test, say neurological leaders.

Advancements in the area of genetics have fuelled research of brain disorders, according to researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Emory University School of Medicine.

This research expanded on that in the 1990s, which found critical genes causing disorders of the brain including those for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Charcot-Marie Tooth and fragile X.

Research should now focus on the study of normal brain development and epigenetics, looking at how it governs disease development, said the authors of the study published in scientific journal Neuron.

"The findings that several disorders, including some of the more devastating developmental and degenerative diseases are reversible in mouse models, provides hope that discovering ways to counteract or suppress diseases might halt or even reverse some of the most serious neurological and psychiatric disorders," they said.

This applying of genetic research to disorders of the brain comes after the US army reported it has discovered a blood test which could detect brain injury.

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Posted by Timothy Walters
 

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