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Genetics and neuropsychiatric disorders: Treatment during adulthood

Genetic approaches in animal models have recently led to new ways of thinking about inherited neuropsychiatric disorders. Many such disorders were thought to originate during early development, but newer findings have suggested that processes in the adult nervous system also contribute. Dan Ehninger and Alcino J. Silva outline how such events in the adult may be amenable to therapy, including some approaches in clinical trials. In Bedside to Bench, Petrus de Vries questions the utility of genome-wide association studies for autism spectrum disorders and other neuropsychiatric conditions.

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Figure 1: Various autism-related mutations affect genes encoding signaling molecules that link cell surface receptors with the protein synthesis machinery.

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Ehninger, D., Silva, A. Genetics and neuropsychiatric disorders: Treatment during adulthood. Nat Med 15, 849–850 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0809-849

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