Singer Lauren
Scarsdale High School, 1057 White Plains Road, Scarsdale 10583 NY, USA.
Mol Autism. 2015 Sep 17;6:52. doi: 10.1186/s13229-015-0046-8. eCollection 2015.
According to the CDC, males are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than females. New studies have shown that girls need a higher burden of genetic mutation to be diagnosed with autism than males. These findings are leading researchers to a new avenue of investigation called the female protective effect. This theory holds that even when females carry mutations in autism-linked genes, the effect of the mutations is prevented when the level of genetic disruption is low. Understanding the biology behind this protective effect and studying females independently from males could lead to major advancements in the prevention and treatment of ASD in both males and females.
根据美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）的数据，男性被诊断患有自闭症的可能性是女性的四倍。新的研究表明，与男性相比，女孩需要更高的基因突变负荷才会被诊断为自闭症。这些发现引导研究人员走向一条名为女性保护效应的新研究途径。该理论认为，即使女性携带与自闭症相关基因的突变，当基因破坏水平较低时，突变的影响也会被阻止。了解这种保护效应背后的生物学机制，并将女性与男性分开进行研究，可能会在男性和女性自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的预防和治疗方面取得重大进展。
