Mice that are unable to produce a carbohydrate molecule that regulates cell growth show behaviors that resemble the core deficits of autism, according to a study published 27 March in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers typically use only one ‘cohort,’ a group of about three dozen mice, for a given set of experiments. When others repeat the experiments with a different set of animals, sometimes the results hold up, and sometimes they don’t.
Researchers have identified four new mutations in the autism-linked gene neurexin-1 in individuals who have autism and severe intellectual disability, they reported 3 April in Neurobiology of Disease.
Preliminary results from a placebo-controlled trial of the antibiotic minocycline in children with fragile X syndrome suggest the drug alleviates some aspects of the disorder, according to research presented Friday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Toronto.
Mice lacking the autism-associated gene SHANK2 show autism-like behaviors similar to those seen in mice lacking SHANK3, another member of the same gene family. But SHANK2 and SHANK3 mice have distinct alterations at neuronal junctions, according to a report published 29 April in Nature.
A pilot project highlights how adult stem cells could be used to test and select personalized therapies.
Researchers have identified deletions in SHANK1 — the third member of a gene family that is closely linked to autism — in five men with the disorder, they reported 4 May in the American Journal of Human Genetics. This is the first study linking SHANK1 mutations to people with autism.
Multiple levels of complexity make it challenging to develop drugs to treat autism.
Individuals with autism are more likely than controls to have small, rare duplications or deletions of stretches of DNA in genes that play a role in dampening signals in the brain, according to a study published 2 April in Molecular Autism.
A promising approach to treating fragile X syndrome could benefit people even after the critical window of early brain development, and alleviate core symptoms of autism, according to two studies published this month.