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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: rapamycin

January 2017
A surreal portrait of doctors walking out on vibrant tree-limbs, as it were. This represents doctors exploring novel pathways in cancer research.

The curious connection between autism and cancer

by  /  11 January 2017

A surprising number of genes associated with autism also have links to cancer. Does that mean cancer drugs can treat autism?

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May 2016
Illustration shows doctors in Libya looking at a city, with children standing in the foreground.

The gene hunters

by  /  18 May 2016

Criss-crossing the globe on a quest for unusual DNA, researchers have discovered a rare mutation that promises insights into both epilepsy and autism — and points to a treatment.

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November 2014

Treatment prevents autism-like symptoms in ‘teenage’ mice

by  /  16 November 2014

A treatment that targets the genetic defect in tuberous sclerosis prevents autism-like symptoms in mice at 6 weeks of age — the mouse equivalent of adolescence. Researchers presented the unpublished results yesterday at the 2014 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
 

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September 2014

Brains of children with autism teem with surplus synapses

by  /  4 September 2014

The brains of children with autism do not prune unneeded connections between neurons as they age, leaving them with too many of these neuronal links, according to a study published 21 August in Neuron.

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January 2014
Photograph of a magnified section of a cerebellum showing nerve cells in a human brain.

Mounting evidence implicates cerebellum in autism

by  /  6 January 2014

Results from four studies published in the past year point to a role for the cerebellum in autism-related behaviors.

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June 2013
Micrograph of interneuron and pyramidal neuron in the hippocampus.

Signaling imbalance may underlie tuberous sclerosis complex

by  /  17 June 2013

The mutation that causes tuberous sclerosis complex, an autism-related disorder, may disable calming signals in the brain, leading to hyperactive neurons, according to a study published 8 May in Neuron.

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July 2012

Tuberous sclerosis gene loss triggers autism-like features

by  /  26 July 2012

Losing one or both copies of TSC1, one of the two genes responsible for tuberous sclerosis complex, in specific cells of the cerebellum can trigger several autism-like behaviors in mice, according to research published 1 July in Nature.

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Insights for autism from tuberous sclerosis complex

by  /  24 July 2012

Studying tuberous sclerosis provides researchers with a unique opportunity to find a common pathway among the various genetic causes of autism, says neurologist Mustafa Sahin.

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April 2012

Molecular mechanisms: Autism gene modulates connectivity

by  /  10 April 2012

Neurons lacking PTEN, an autism-associated gene also involved in cancer, are hyperconnected to both near and distant brain cells, according to a study published 1 February in The Journal of Neuroscience.

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December 2011
Chart explaining healthy neuron synapse function.

Tuberous sclerosis, fragile X may be molecular opposites

by  /  1 December 2011

Some forms of autism are caused by too many proteins at the synapse, the junction between neurons, whereas other forms result from too few, according to a study published 23 November in Nature.

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