"Whether or not it is in fact caused by this particular mutation remains to be tested, but the creation of animal models of the human circadian gene variant will allow direct testing of this fascinating and important hypothesis," says Fu.

Other hypotheses are also on the horizon: The team noted that five of the family members who have FASPS, as well as a sixth relative with possible FASPS, have asthma and migraine with aura (a neurological sensation that foretells the onset of a migraine). While they have not investigated a possible link, the scientists have taken note.

"We're going to follow the same approach we always have," says Ptacek. "If we find something interesting in any of these domains, we'll pursue."

Other co-authors of the study were Quasar S. Padiath, Susan C. Wu , Noriko Saigoh, of the UCSF Department of Neurology; Kazumasa Saigoh, formerly of the UCSF Department of Neurology; and Robert E. Shapiro of the Department of Neurology, University of Vermont College of Medicine.

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Contact: Jennifer O'Brien
jobrien@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
30-Mar-2005