Autism gender bias clue found - Health - CBC News - 0 views
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four times more common among males than females.
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rare family with four generations in which males carrying the glitch were affected but females were not.
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When male fetuses are missing one copy of the gene, it throws off their developmental process enough to lead to autism but female biology differs enough that it doesn't matter.
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Scientists have long wondered why autism is much more common among males than females. When males miss one copy of a gene it messes up the development process enough to cause autism but female biology differs enough to make it not matter. Now that scientists have identified that the SHANK 1 gene is involved they can test for it and could offer treatments early.