Unique origin and specific ethnic distribution of the Friedreich ataxia GAA expansion. Labuda, M., Labuda, D., Miranda, C., Poirier, J., Soong, B., W., Barucha, N., E., & Pandolfo, M. Neurology, 54(12):2322-4., 2000.
Unique origin and specific ethnic distribution of the Friedreich ataxia GAA expansion [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
The GAA triplet repeat expansion that causes Friedreich ataxia is found only in individuals of European, North African, Middle Eastern, or Indian origin (Indo-European and Afro-Asiatic speakers). Analysis of normal alleles of the GAA repeat and of closely linked markers suggests that expansions arose through a unique two-step process. A major implication of these findings is that Friedreich ataxia may not exist among sub-Saharan Africans, Amerindians, and people from China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

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