Study: Half of Intellectual Disability Caused By Random, Not Inherited, Genetic Mutations

BERLIN -- More than half the cases of severe intellectual disability caused by genetic defects are the result of random mutations, not inherited mutations passed down from parents, a new study suggests.
The findings of the small-scale European study give hope to parents of children born with a severe intellectual disabilities who are worried about having another baby with the same condition, said Anita Rauch, chair of the Institute of Medical Genetics in Zurich who was one of the study's lead authors.

Vaccine Consent Measure Revives Autism Debate

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Earlier this month, the British medical journal The Lancet retracted a famous study that linked vaccines with autism.
Public health experts, worried over an uptick in diseases like mumps and measles in children who weren't vaccinated, breathed a sigh of relief. Numerous studies over several years have found no link between vaccines and autism.
But now, an echo of that controversy is back in the Florida Legislature, and pediatricians are moving quickly to silence it.
Sen. Jeremy Ring, a member of a governor's task force on autism spectrum disorders, and Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa, are sponsoring legislation that would require parents to give signed consent before their children get vaccines that are needed to enter school.
But opponents say signed consent -- generally reserved for surgery and other major treatments -- will only create needless anxiety. Under federal law, parents must be given written information about vaccines.