London: The first comprehensive effort to pinpoint the genetic causes of learning disability has narrowed down to the genes involved from a potential list of thousands to several dozen key genes.
The study by scientists at Oxford University and Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in The Netherlands could lead to diagnostic testing and genetic counselling being offered as an option to people with learning difficulties and their families.
The 78 genes identified by the research are involved in the nervous system. This is the first time that evidence from across the human genome has shown that learning disability is a disorder of the brain and nervous system.
The study's findings have been published in the journal PLoS Genetics.
Prof Chris Ponting of the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at the University of Oxford said: "We have found a set of key genes in which changes or variations could lead to learning disability. This could be a first step towards offering people the option of having a genetic diagnostic test for learning difficulties, should they want it."