Mutations found in genes responsible for directing enzymes to their cellular destination.
Often dismissed as a psychological problem, stuttering may be the result of genetic mutations implicated in daily metabolic processes, a new study shows.
Stuttering — a common speech disorder characterized by repetition, prolongation of sounds, and interruptions in the flow of speech — affects about 60 million people worldwide. Studies on twins and adopted individuals show that it is highly heritable, and the new work suggests that 10 different mutations on three genes coding for enzymes could be to blame.
"As a disorder it gets no respect," says senior investigator Dennis Drayna, a geneticist at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders in Bethesda, Maryland. "I think our results go a long way towards convincing sceptics that stuttering is indeed a biological problem."
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