Review Synthetic Report: Genetic and socio-anthropological regards in infantile Autism

Abstract Infantile autism is an early onset neurodevelopmental disorder defined by significant deficits in social interaction and communication and stereotypic behavior. Advances in autism genetic continue to expand the list of medical diseases associated with autism. The etiology and contributing genetic and environmental factors for autism are still poorly understood. Linkage analyses for autism susceptibility loci have suggested the involvement of multiple genes from different chromosomes. The socio-anthropological approach contributes to an understanding of autism focusing mainly on development, socialization, communication and behaviour of the autistic children. This approach assures the comprehension of cultural and social factors influencing the social representations of autism and employs a variety of strategies of integration of the autistic children in different social contexts. Autism damages the social competence of the patient and his or her interaction with others. Impairments associated to the cognitive, emotional, linguistic and social interaction will be reduced if adequate strategies of intervention are applied in the social context of autistic children. Dermatoglyphic studies are considered to be beneficial in the early diagnosis of some syndromes genetically determined. The dermatoglyphic investigation performed on autistic children has put into evidence multiple distortions with deep pathological significance in the digital and especially in the palmary picture. This review is an attempt where converge two disciplines, genetics and socio-anthropology, in order to give an interdisciplinary raise for helping the understanding of this pathology.