Cause of Dyslexia on Chromosome 18

A pre-school test to identify children with a predisposition to dyslexia might be possible in the future with the discovery of a genetic link to the disorder.

A study of more than 200 families of children who are dyslexic has revealed that a region of chromosome 18 – one of the 23 pairs of human chromosomes – is strongly associated with the condition.

Scientists from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford say that the biggest dyslexia study of its kind has identified what could turn out to be the most important gene involved in causing dyslexia.

"Over the next few years, we will be looking at the genes most likely to be associated with the disorder," he said.

208 families were studied in the research.

They correlated their findings with the pattern of inheritance and looked for links with specific regions of each of the 23 pairs of chromosomes, leading them to a region of chromosome 18. "It is rare to find such a strong link between a genetic region and complex disorders."

With many thanks to the excellent Independent News.