Comparative Genomics of Autism , Tourette syndrome and Autoimmune / Inflammatory Disorders 4 - 23 - 03

Autism and Tourette syndrome are complex enigmatic disorders. Both are childhood neurological syndromes affecting behavior, social interaction, movement, and language. Like many complex disorders, autism and Tourette syndrome are thought to have complex genetic and environmental etiologies. Similarly, autoimmune and inflammatory (AI) disorders have complex multigenic and environmental origins. Genetic loci for AI disorders have previously been shown to cluster non-randomly in several regions throughout the human genome, suggesting in some cases, shared genetic etiologies. Here, we show that genetic loci for autism and Tourette syndrome tend to cluster with each other and also tend to cluster with previously defined loci for inflammatory disorders. This suggests a genetic relationship between autism and Tourette syndrome, as well as a genetic relationship of both with disorders of immune dysregulaton.