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.

Researchers shed new light on role of methylation in gene expression

Researchers at UC Davis and the University of British Columbia have shed new light on methylation, a critical process that helps control how genes are expressed.

28 Mar 2013

Nationwide clinical drug trials give hope for patients with autism and fragile X syndrome

As scientists uncover the precise links between autism and the fragile x gene, potential treatments to reverse many of the core symptoms of both autism and fragile X syndrome (FXS) are moving closer to reality.

2 Mar 2013

Quest Diagnostics offers access to a new non-invasive prenatal test developed by Natera

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX), the world’s leading diagnostic information services company, and Natera, a leading innovator in prenatal genetic testing, today announced that Quest Diagnostics will offer physicians access to Panorama™, a new non-invasive prenatal test developed by Natera.

From Quest Diagnostics 21 Feb 2013

Computer-based cognitive/behavioral training program can benefit patients with fragile X

Researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute will examine whether children and youth with fragile X syndrome can improve their working memory, cognition and behavior by using an online computer-based cognitive training program, through a new $1 million grant from The John Merck Fund.

14 Feb 2013

LP-211 compound shows promise against Fragile X syndrome

A potential new therapeutic strategy for treating Fragile X syndrome is detailed in a new report appearing in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry, from researchers led by Dr. Lucia Ciranna at University of Catania in Italy.

29 Nov 2012

Biofactory introduces FastFraX FMR1 Identification Kit at MEDICA 2012

The Biofactory, a biomedical incubator based in Singapore, has launched a new genetic test at MEDICA 2012, the world's largest medical trade fair. Called FastFraX, this genetic test is able to effectively screen for Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), a genetic condition that is the most common form of inherited intellectual disability.

14 Nov 2012

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome anxiety linked to poorer adaptive behaviors

UC Davis researchers have found that for children with the genetic disorder known as chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome anxiety -- but not intelligence -- is linked to poorer adaptive behaviors, such as self-care and communication skills, that affect daily life. The developmental syndrome, which is associated with a constellation of physical, cognitive and psychiatric problems, usually is apparent at birth or early childhood, and leads to lifelong challenges.

6 Nov 2012

ESDM improves social skills and brain responses to social cues

The Early Start Denver Model, a comprehensive behavioral early intervention program that is appropriate for children with autism spectrum disorder as young as 12 months, has been found to be effective in improving social skills and brain responses to social cues in a randomized controlled study published online today in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

29 Oct 2012

Novel target identified for fragile X-linked autism

Researchers have elucidated a novel mechanism through which fragile X syndrome may contribute to behavioural symptoms of autism and identified a potential therapeutic target.

1 Oct 2012

Increasing marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X

American and European scientists have found that increasing natural marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X syndrome, the most common known genetic cause of autism.

26 Sep 2012

Study finds drug may aid some autism patients

An experimental drug can improve sociability in patients with fragile X syndrome and may be helpful as a treatment for autism, according to the authors of a new study.

21 Sep 2012

First Edition: September 20, 2012

Today's headlines include reports that the health law's penalty for not obtaining health insurance could hit as many as 6 million people.

21 Sep 2012

Scripps Florida designs new compound that shows promise against tremor ataxia syndrome

Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have designed a compound that shows promise as a potential therapy for one of the diseases closely linked to fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition that causes mental retardation, infertility, and memory impairment, and is the only known single-gene cause of autism.

6 Sep 2012

Scientists establish genetic mouse model for primary ovarian insufficiency

Scientists have established a genetic mouse model for primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), a human condition in which women experience irregular menstrual cycles and reduced fertility, and early exposure to estrogen deficiency.

31 Aug 2012

Scientists discover how pten gene causes brain changes that lead to autism-like behavior

Scientists affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute have discovered how a defective gene causes brain changes that lead to the atypical social behavior characteristic of autism. The research offers a potential target for drugs to treat the condition.

13 Aug 2012

Similar molecular pathways involved in intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes

Intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes involves similar molecular pathways report researchers in The EMBO Journal. The two disorders share disturbances in the molecular events that regulate the way nerve cells develop dendritic spines, the small extensions found on the surface of nerve cells that are crucial for communication in the brain.

3 Aug 2012

PsychoGenics, Afraxis partner to offer Enhanced Spine Platform technology

Afraxis and PsychoGenics today announced an alliance to offer Afraxis' Enhanced Spine Platform (ESP) technology as part of PsychoGenics' comprehensive testing capabilities and drug discovery services.

17 Jul 2012

Five rare mutations in single gene increase chances of boys developing ASD

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have identified five rare mutations in a single gene that appear to increase the chances that a boy will develop an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

13 Jul 2012

Researchers use mouse model of autism to treat CTD

Using a mouse model of autism, researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have successfully treated an autism spectrum disorder characterized by severe cognitive impairment.

3 Jul 2012

Study investigates EEGs as potential diagnostic tool for autism

Widely available EEG testing can distinguish children with autism from neurotypical children as early as age 2, finds a study from Boston Children's Hospital. The study is the largest, most rigorous study to date to investigate EEGs as a potential diagnostic tool for autism, and offers hope for an earlier, more definitive test.

26 Jun 2012