Going on Trial: Orphan drugs; CBD; bumetanide | Spectrum | Autism Research News
This month’s newsletter takes a close look at the orphan drug program in the United States, several cannabis-based therapies and a secondary analysis of bumetanide, among other new developments in autism-related drug trials.
Neurons struggle to spike without fragile X gene | Spectrum | Autism Research News
FMR1 loss impairs sodium channels, hindering mouse neurons from generating the electrical signals needed to transmit information.
Missing mechanism helps solve fragile X protein mystery | Spectrum | Autism Research News
Cells from people with fragile X syndrome overproduce — but don’t accumulate — proteins. New work suggests that excessive protein breakdown may account for this discrepancy, and explain some of the syndrome’s traits.
Autism genes converge on disruptions in social brain circuit | Spectrum | Autism Research News
The circuit linking the prefrontal cortex and part of the thalamus is impaired in mice raised in social isolation and in mice with mutations in the FMR1 or TSC2 genes.
Mouse models help sniff out olfactory differences in autism | Spectrum | Autism Research News
A range of presentations at Neuroscience 2022 tie atypical social behavior to trouble discriminating between odors in the animals.
Decoding sensory brain networks: A quick take at SfN with Ethan Scott | Spectrum | Autism Research News
Scott describes his work on sound processing differences in the brains of zebrafish that model fragile X syndrome.
Mouse studies cast astrocytes as stars of sensory perception | Spectrum | Autism Research News
Data from two separate research teams suggest the cells are key to sensory hypersensitivity in fragile X syndrome.
Fragile X neurons develop atypically in chimeric mice | Spectrum | Autism Research News
After a brain transplant of reprogrammed human cells, the animals can for the first time recapitulate some neuronal changes seen in people with fragile X syndrome.
The cloudy connection between fragile X and cancer | Spectrum | Autism Research News
People with the autism-linked syndrome lack a protein implicated in several cancers, but it’s unclear whether — or how — they are protected from malignancies.
Largest-yet fragile X mutation in mice confirms model’s shortcomings | Spectrum | Autism Research News
A 341-repeat mutation from a person with fragile X does not lead to the syndrome’s traits or function the same way in mice, highlighting a need for different animal models.
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