Iranian and German scholars succeeded in indentifying fifty new mental retardation gene.

An Iranian medical scientist and the Director of Genetics Research Center at Iranian University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences Hossein Najmabadi noted mental retardation includes two or three percents of the whole retardations in the world, adding the university had begun the research in 2004 jointly with over 20 Iranian scholars and a German research center.

Najmabadi known for his significant contribution to the genetics of mental retardation, stressed the method used in the research is unique and possess a great value which has been published in a form of an essay in the world’s most valid journal of “Nature”.

Mental Retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors. It has historically been defined as an Intelligence Quotient score under 70. Once focused almost entirely on cognition, the definition now includes both a component relating to mental functioning and one relating to individuals’ functional skills in their environment. As a result, a person with a below-average intelligence quotient (BAIQ) may not be considered mentally retarded. Syndromic mental retardation is intellectual deficits associated with other medical and behavioral signs and symptoms. Non-syndromic mental retardation refers to intellectual deficits that appear without other abnormalities.
Source: ISNA