Children with Nonsyndromid Intellectual Disability Appear to have a Genetic Mutation that Contributes to this Condition, Discover Researchers at the University of Montreal

"Nonsyndromic mental deficiency", a condition of intellectual disability which affects individuals who otherwise look normal, may be related to a genetic mutation in an individual, reveals new research by Jacques L. Michaud, a geneticist at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center at the University of Montreal. The researchers say that these new mutations that arise in children, while not present in their parents, may represent a common cause of intellectual disability. The study titled "Mutations in SYNGAP1 in Autosomal Non-Syndromic Mental Retardation" by Fadi F. Hamdan et al. is published in the February 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

• To read an abstract, click here.

• To read a news release on the discovery from the University of Montreal, click here.