Cousin marriage is a major cause of mental retardation in Pakistan

sheraz 19 May , 2020 1625 123

ISLAMABAD: A team of Pakistani scientists has identified 30 genes in the local population that could be a potential cause of mental retardation and mental retardation in the population and could have a negative impact on future generations. The main reason is cousin marriage or mutual marriage in the family.


Twelve professors from the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University in Islamabad, in collaboration with American and Dutch experts, have conducted this important study, the research paper of which has been published in the weekly international scientific journal Nature Molecular Psychiatry. Experts from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Red Bound University Medical Center in the Netherlands have also been instrumental in the study.


Announcing this important work, Dr. Javed Ikram, Vice Chancellor of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University and lead researcher involved in the survey, said that the discovery shows that the rate of mental illness and disability is high in Pakistan due to intermarriage. Is.

Research has revealed that Pakistan has a higher rate of genetic diseases than cousins' marriages, including autosomal recessive anti-lymphatic disability (ARID). In Pakistan, 1.1 out of 100 children are born with severe mental retardation (ID) and 6 out of 100 are born with mild mental retardation.


Experts in the Netherlands said in a video conference that their research had identified genes responsible for mental retardation and retardation. It is hoped that this will help in understanding the condition at the molecular level. He added that the final results of this work will be presented in the next 8 months. This will pave the way for disease identification and treatment at the molecular level.


Dr. Riaz-ud-Din, an expert from the Medical University, said the research would pave the way for new laws, pre- and post-natal tests, legislation and treatment for mental retardation and prevention.


All scientists have strongly supported the practice of testing and screening boys and girls before marriage to reduce the birth rate of genetic blindness, deafness and mental retardation.

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