Mental retardation: Pakistani scientists discover 30 new genes

[Devil Soul]

Mental retardation: Pakistani scientists discover 30 new genes
By Asma Ghani
Published: September 7, 2016
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PHOTO: Pakmed

ISLAMABAD: A group of Pakistani researchers has discovered some 30 genes causing mental retardation in the local population, paving the way for preventive measures to reduce intellectual disabilities in the future generations.

The landmark discovery has been made by a team of 12 professors from the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) of Islamabad working in collaboration with scientists from the Netherlands and the US.

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The groundbreaking research was announced by the Pakistani scientists on Tuesday. The paper has already been published in Nature’s Molecular Psychiatry – a prestigious international journal with an impact factor of 13.3.

Researchers from SZABMU, Netherlands’ Radboud University Medical Centre and University of Maryland School of Medicine had been working on the research for the past five years.

“This is a landmark discovery for Pakistan as mental retardation is comparatively high in the country owing to cousin marriages,” said SZABMU Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Akram, who was the principal investigator from Pakistan.

The elevated level of endogamy in Pakistan has led to increased prevalence of genetic disorders, including autosomal recessive intellectual disability (ARID) with an average of 1.1 cases of severe ID and 6.2 cases per 100 live births of mild ID.

The researcher from Netherlands, who joined the press briefing via video conferencing, said the new findings further expand the existing repertoire of genes involved in mental retardation, and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms and the transcriptome map of the condition.

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These findings together with results expected to be released during the next eight months will have a significant role in improving the existing diagnostic procedures as well as treatment strategies especially of Molecular deafness, said Prof Hans van Bokhovenand from Radboud university Medical Centre.

SZABMU’s Dr S Riazuddin said the aim was to help bring in new legislations for a battery of tests for postnatal screening of infants and prenatal screening for mental retardation and other hereditary diseases.

The team is also going to propose the government to make mandatory pre-marriage screening for families having genes that cause blindness, deafness and intellectual disability.

The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), he said, has already registered some 3,000 such families from interior Sindh and south Punjab having such genes to consult before contracting within family marriages.

The paper published in the Molecular Psychiatry journal can be viewed at www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/mp2016109a.html.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2016.

 

[Skull and Bones]

13.3 impact factor for a medical journal is very average if you ask me.

 

[mpk1988]

Good stuff. They should be encouraged more.

 

[Roybot]

The elevated level of endogamy in Pakistan has led to increased prevalence of genetic disorders, including autosomal recessive intellectual disability (ARID) with an average of 1.1 cases of severe ID and 6.2 cases per 100 live births of mild ID.

Those numbers are huge! So close to 7.5% Pakistanis are mentally retarded?

 

[IceCold]

Those numbers are huge! So close to 7.5% Pakistanis are mentally retarded?

Cant say if 7.5% figure is correct or not but cases in Pakistan are high and the primary reason as stated are the cousin marriages. I have seen it in my family as well. First two kids did not survived and third one was mentally retarded and only lived for 4 years before the child passed away.

 

[war&peace]

Cant say if 7.5% figure is correct or not but cases in Pakistan are high and the primary reason as stated are the cousin marriages. I have seen it in my family as well. First two kids did not survived and third one was mentally retarded and only lived for 4 years before the child passed away.

Cousin marriages should be declared illegal but I think this is a tall order

 

[IceCold]

Cousin marriages should be declared illegal but I think this is a tall order

Actually its not bared in the religion hence government cannot declare it illegal. But i am surprised at the stubbornness of the people. I remember my colleague had 3 of his sons deaf and dumb because of this yet again he got his elder son who was the only one who was not deaf and dumb again married with his cousin and i was like Shah sb you know the results of this why do you do it and i was even more amazed by his reply, Yar aisi bahir shadi ker lain to sadhi larkiyaan bhati rahain.

 

[war&peace]

Actually its not bared in the religion hence government cannot declare it illegal. But i am surprised at the stubbornness of the people. I remember my colleague had 3 of his sons deaf and dumb because of this yet again he got his elder son who was the only one who was not deaf and dumb again married with his cousin and i was like Shah sb you know the results of this why do you do it and i was even more amazed by his reply, Yar aisi bahir shadi ker lain to sadhi larkiyaan bhati rahain.

Govt should start awareness campaign. Furthermore, Pakistanis should start marrying in cross-cultures and ethnicities to make a more homogeneous society...what's the advantage of marrying within the family and tribe? If we understand and rectify this institution, we can solve quite a few problems on long term basis.

 

[Bharat Muslim]

Cant say if 7.5% figure is correct or not but cases in Pakistan are high and the primary reason as stated are the cousin marriages. I have seen it in my family as well. First two kids did not survived and third one was mentally retarded and only lived for 4 years before the child passed away.

In my region, along-with cousin-marriage, avunculate marriage (uncle-niece marriage) is/was common. I guess at least the practice of avunculate marriage must be waning. I am not sure.

There are quite a few retards in my town but I don't know if they are numerous. I can't do comparison because when I used to live in other region (where such marriage is a taboo) I was a kid and wasn't so observant.

Govt should start awareness campaign. Furthermore, Pakistanis should start marrying in cross-cultures and ethnicities to make a more homogeneous society...what's the advantage of marrying within the family and tribe? If we understand and rectify this institution, we can solve quite a few problems on long term basis.

Hey! Then why not Indo-Pak marriages?

 

[IceCold]

Hey! Then why not Indo-Pak marriages?

Bhai Sania bhabbi hain na Indo Pak marriages ki example. Or kya chata hain.

 

[Kamikaze Pilot]

Bhai Sania bhabbi hain na Indo Pak marriages ki example. Or kya chata hain.

Real Reason of Shoaib Mallik marrying Sania Mirza

AMERICANS bribed Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Mallik to make him marry Indian tennis player Sania Mirza. AMERICANS gave a big amount to Shoaib Mallik and told him to marry her.

In another case of bribery by Americans or by someone else, a poor Pathan girl married an Indian Muslim.

Why would AMERICANS do this? It is a run up to U.S. colonial rule in South Asia. Americans have some convolute plans.

Right now, Pakistanis don’t regard Indian Muslims as Muslims. Americans want to unite Muslims of both countries and play them against Hindus. It’s a divide-and-colonize policy.

Did you ever think why pro-Hindu news channels like TIMES NOW raked up Babri demolition issue? Because it is also on the payroll of West. It is helping USA in starting communal tensions.

 

[Muhammad Raza Mohaiuddin]

Those numbers are huge! So close to 7.5% Pakistanis are mentally retarded?

You people never let a chance go vain to degrade Pakistan or Pakistanis. This shows how mentally sick you are and same is the dilemma to your whole nation. But still we should respond to sick people like you as a duty because this may correct your nonsense.

 

[Scharfschütze]

Real Reason of Shoaib Mallik marrying Sania Mirza

AMERICANS bribed Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Mallik to make him marry Indian tennis player Sania Mirza. AMERICANS gave a big amount to Shoaib Mallik and told him to marry her.

In another case of bribery by Americans or by someone else, a poor Pathan girl married an Indian Muslim.

Why would AMERICANS do this? It is a run up to U.S. colonial rule in South Asia. Americans have some convolute plans.

Right now, Pakistanis don’t regard Indian Muslims as Muslims. Americans want to unite Muslims of both countries and play them against Hindus. It’s a divide-and-colonize policy.

Did you ever think why pro-Hindu news channels like TIMES NOW raked up Babri demolition issue? Because it is also on the payroll of West. It is helping USA in starting communal tensions.

Retard Spotted!!! His parents must be cousins .. Doctor ko call kero....

 

[war&peace]

In my region, along-with cousin-marriage, avunculate marriage (uncle-niece marriage) is/was common. I guess at least the practice of avunculate marriage must be waning. I am not sure.

There are quite a few retards in my town but I don't know if they are numerous. I can't do comparison because when I used to live in other region (where such marriage is a taboo) I was a kid and wasn't so observant.

Uncle and Niece or vice versa is not even allowed in Islam...I never heard of any such marriage in my life but I know about a lot of cousin marriage but even that is changing now and people are marrying outside the families. I don't see myself marrying within my family and none of my cousins has married his/her cousin but it was totally a different story a generation ago i.e. my parents

Hey! Then why not Indo-Pak marriages?

I am not against it all as long as both are Muslims, they can...But their lives will be affected by the political relations between the two countries, visa issues, travelling to each others countries etc...However it is very much possible for Indians and Pakistan families living abroad. However if the situation gets better between the two countries, it should be okay

Real Reason of Shoaib Mallik marrying Sania Mirza

AMERICANS bribed Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Mallik to make him marry Indian tennis player Sania Mirza. AMERICANS gave a big amount to Shoaib Mallik and told him to marry her.

In another case of bribery by Americans or by someone else, a poor Pathan girl married an Indian Muslim.

Why would AMERICANS do this? It is a run up to U.S. colonial rule in South Asia. Americans have some convolute plans.

Right now, Pakistanis don’t regard Indian Muslims as Muslims. Americans want to unite Muslims of both countries and play them against Hindus. It’s a divide-and-colonize policy.

Did you ever think why pro-Hindu news channels like TIMES NOW raked up Babri demolition issue? Because it is also on the payroll of West. It is helping USA in starting communal tensions.

Please tell me now....Should I laugh or cry? I really want to bang my head

 

[Azadkashmir]

it do with wealth in the family, pakistan land is about marriges too batcha shadi karoom deko kitni baari zameen hai wah ham log bohot kanka la sakthey, "son get married hurry look how big the land is we people can grow lot of wheat".