Fragile X Syndrome News and Research

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Fragile X syndrome is the most common form of inherited mental retardation. A problem with a specific gene causes the disease. Normally, the gene makes a protein you need for brain development. But the mutation causes a person to make little or none of the protein, which results in the symptoms of Fragile X.

Healing and hope for families affected by fragile X in Eastern Europe

Mothers and fathers and their young children crowded into an old, government-run children's hospital in Belgrade, Serbia, colorful, cartoonish drawings covering its hallway walls. Parents struggled to soothe their anxious, wriggly boys and girls. But they were patient, polite. It was, after all, a day unlike any other. A day for hope.

23 Jan 2020

Study examines link between sleep and language in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

New research has discovered that Down's syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and Williams syndrome are all linked to sleep disruption in very young children, and that sleep plays a crucial role in the development of these children's language skills.

16 Jan 2020

UM Medicine launches new centers in Maryland to treat adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities

The University of Maryland School of Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center, and the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance have joined together to launch first-of-a-kind centers in Maryland to treat adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as autism.

8 Dec 2019

Early sound exposure can help treat hypersensitivity to noise associated with FXS

A research team at the University of California, Riverside, has found exposure to sound -- not sound reduction -- during early development of mice engineered to have Fragile X Syndrome, or FXS, restores molecular, cellular, and functional properties in the auditory cortex, the area of the brain that processes sounds.

6 Nov 2019

Researchers analyze neurodegeneration linked to FXTAS by measuring motor behavior

The neurological disorder FXTAS stems from a genetic premutation seen in one of every 151 women and one of every 468 men, called the FMR1 premutation.

17 Oct 2019

Memory-protective drug for Alzheimer’s on the horizon

Scientists have come up with a new drug which could prevent patients with features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) from suffering memory loss and brain damage.

10 Sep 2019

Researchers explore stem cells for answers to how fragile X syndrome develops

The lab of Yongchao Ma, PhD, from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, discovered how the genetic defect in fragile X syndrome – a type of autism – delays production of neurons (nerve cells) at a critical time in the embryo's brain development.

24 Jul 2019

Gene mutation in the brain of autism patients alters behaviors in mice

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a wide range of possible causes, including genetics and environmental factors. Now, a new study suggests that a brain protein mutation may shed light on the mechanism of neurological and developmental illness.

23 Jul 2019

Scientists make breakthrough in understanding the genetics of common syndromic autism

Australian and Chilean scientists have made a breakthrough in their understanding of the genetics of a common form of syndromic autism – and they hope their work could one day lead to the development of treatments for the condition.

19 Jun 2019

The sense of touch is defined and fully functional before birth

All the surface of the human body is represented in the cerebral cortex in a transversal band localized at the external part of the cerebral hemispheres: the somatosensory cortex.

3 May 2019

Gene repair improves seizure and memory in adult mouse models of autism

A new study challenges the presumption that people born with developmental brain disorders such as severe autism will benefit from medical interventions only if treated during a narrow window in infancy or early childhood.

27 Apr 2019

Computer-based memory games may be beneficial for individuals with fragile X syndrome

In the largest non-pharmacological trial ever in children with fragile X syndrome, UC Davis researchers found that large-scale, in-home cognitive interventions are feasible and may be beneficial for individuals with the syndrome and potentially other intellectual disabilities.

16 Apr 2019

Cardiff University launches Medicines Discovery Institute to develop new generation of drugs

Cardiff University is stepping up the development of new drugs for mental health and central nervous system conditions, with the launch of the Medicines Discovery Institute.

25 Mar 2019

Breakthrough chromosome imaging could aid in development of new treatments

Chromosomes, each containing hundreds or thousands of genes, act like a detailed instruction manual for how cells should develop and behave.

28 Feb 2019

Study reveals how one mutation causes the most common inherited intellectual disability

Research published today (Feb. 11, 2019) reveals how one mutation causes fragile X, the most common inherited intellectual disability.

12 Feb 2019

Experimental drug can positively modify key characteristic behavior in FXS patients

Researchers at MIND Institute at UC Davis and Rush University Medical Center have found that mavoglurant, an experimental drug known as a mGluR5 negative modulator, can positively modify a key characteristic behavior in individuals with fragile X syndrome.

22 Jan 2019

New method to speed up genetic diagnosis of Huntington’s disease

Elongated segments of DNA cause Huntington's disease and certain other disorders of the brain. Researchers funded by the SNSF have developed a method to determine the length of the mutated genes quickly and easily.

10 Jan 2019

Quadrant Biosciences announces collaboration on research into treatment of ASD

Quadrant Biosciences, Inc., an emerging life science company based in Syracuse, N.Y., today announced its collaboration with the Autism Speaks® Autism Treatment Network and its university research partners on research into the treatment of autism spectrum disorder.

26 Oct 2018

Researchers track where tetracycline antibiotics go in human cells

We know that antibiotics treat bacterial infections. We also know why they work. Tetracycline antibiotics, for example, stop bacteria from making protein. Like a boot on a wheel, the drugs bind to the bacterial cell's ribosome--where protein is made--and prevent it from working. Without protein, the bacteria weaken and die.

25 Oct 2018

Neuroscientists unravel how two different types of brain plasticity work on synapses

The brain's crucial function is to allow organisms to learn and adapt to their surroundings. It does this by literally changing the connections, or synapses, between neurons, strengthening meaningful patterns of neural activity in order to store information. The existence of this process - brain plasticity - has been known for some time.

12 Oct 2018