Researchers at Medical Neurogenetics have found that there may be a genetic link between autism and mitochondrial disease, “a muscle-weakening disorder,” today’s Reuters reports. Dr. John Shoffner, a neurologist and geneticist and one of the owners of the Atlanta-based company, reported at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in Chicago that 37 autistic children were evaluated for mitochondrial disease at his clinic. More than 60 percent of them (24 of the children, or 65 percent) were found to have mitochondrial defects based on evaluating genetic samples and clinical information. Dr. Shoffner noted that the clinic’s findings need to be confirmed …read more