Mental Retardation News and Research

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How SARS-CoV-2 hijacks Fragile X proteins to fuel infection: New clues in COVID-19 and genetic disorders

Study explores the interaction between SARS-CoV-2's non-structural protein 3 (NSP3) and proteins related to Fragile X mental retardation (FMRPs), shedding light on COVID-19 pathophysiology. The research suggests that the virus exploits these host cell proteins for effective infection and possibly interferes with antiviral defense mechanisms, offering new insights into the genetic basis of Fragile X syndrome.

5 Sep 2023

The role of oxidative stress in congenital syndromes

Researchers discuss the role of oxidative stress in genetic conditions.

10 Oct 2022

SARS-CoV-2 Nsp3 protease activity and nanobody inhibitor development

A new study published in the pre-print server bioRxiv* explores the viral enzyme PLpro, encoded in the nonstructural protein nsp3, and its inhibitors. T

14 Dec 2020

Experimental vaccine could be effective against both Zika and Dengue

Walter Reed army institute of research has shown that a new vaccine against the Zika virus could be effective against both Zika and dengue virus. The study titled, “Potent Zika and dengue cross-neutralizing antibodies induced by Zika vaccination in a dengue experienced donor,” in the latest issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

3 Feb 2020

Link between autism and poor cognition

Autistic people are often brilliant, but they may also have poor cognitive skills. The relationship between autism and either condition, inside the brain, has been far from clear. However, now a new study shows that poor cognition in autism could be due to the influence of a small gene fragment.

29 Jan 2020

Electronic health records instead of patient care: waste of time?

Healthcare providers are increasingly murmuring about the amount of time and effort as well as money spent on maintaining an electronic health records (EHR) system in the US. The time outpatients spend with doctors and other providers of health care is limited, and when a significant fraction of this is devoted to entering information electronically, it could impact patient care negatively.

14 Jan 2020

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

Rubella eliminated from Australia confirms WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that Australia has managed to eliminate the viral infection rubella from its population. This is a significant achievement on part of the country’s healthcare system. WHO defines elimination of a disease as “reduction to zero of the incidence of infection caused by a specific agent in a defined geographical area”.

2 Nov 2018

Zika virus could become a weapon against brain cancer

Zika virus infection is a dreaded one that can lead to severe brain damage in the unborn babies of mothers who get it.

20 Sep 2018

Zika virus found to specifically kill glioblastoma brain cancer cells

According to a latest study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health, the deadly Zika virus could be used to kill a specific type of brain cancer cells and sparing the neighbouring healthy brain cells. Although experimental in stage, this finding has wide implications for those suffering from these cancers.

5 Sep 2017

Study determines safest temperature and duration for body-cooling of newborns

After more than 20 years of research on the best treatment for full-term infants affected by oxygen deprivation during the birthing process, Seetha Shankaran, M.D., neonatologist at DMC's Children's Hospital of Michigan and Hutzel Women's Hospital, served as the lead investigator in a definitive Journal of the American Medical Association study that documented the safest depth and duration of body-cooling to minimize injury from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in newborns.

25 Jul 2017

Zika virus affecting teenage mothers in Brazil

Zika virus transmitted by mosquitoes is affecting scores of teenage girls in the latest Brazilian Zika outbreak. The consequences of this could be serious say experts

14 Jul 2017

Zika entry into India – cause for concern

The Zika virus has finally wormed its way into one of the largest and most densely populated countries in the world, India. The World Health Organization reported that surveillance efforts should be strengthened here in order to curb the menace and prevent its spread.

30 May 2017

KU Leuven researchers identify vital role of TET1 protein in earliest stages of embryonic development

In the earliest stages of embryonic development, a protein known as TET1 may be the factor that tips the balance toward health or disease.

18 May 2017

Diabetes medication could potentially help treat symptoms of Fragile X syndrome

Metformin, the most widely used drug to treat type 2 diabetes, could potentially be used to treat symptoms of Fragile X syndrome, an inherited form of intellectual disability and a cause of some forms of autism.

15 May 2017

Discovery of steroid hormone in fruit flies may shed new light on maternal hypothyroidism

University of Oregon researchers using Drosophila have identified a steroid hormone that triggers a vital transition in early brain development in which neural stem cells properly change gears to produce different kinds of neurons.

15 May 2017

'Human knockouts': Genetics in families reveals basic biology and possible therapeutics for disorders

More than 1,800 individuals carrying loss-of-function mutations in both copies of their genes, so-called "human knockouts," are described in the first major study to be published in Nature this week by an international collaboration led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues.

12 Apr 2017

First national survey reveals high burden of iodine deficiency among Israelis

62% of school-age children and 85% of pregnant women in Israel have low iodine intakes, according to the country's first national iodine survey. Government funding and legislation, and a government-regulated program of salt or food iodization, are essential to reducing the deficiency, which poses a high risk of impaired neurological development.

27 Mar 2017

Study: Treatment window for Fragile X syndrome likely remains open into maturity after childhood

Brain samples from humans show that the treatment window for Fragile X syndrome likely remains open well into maturity after childhood, when previous tests with mice indicated it might close, according to a new Drexel University-led study.

21 Mar 2017

Transporters of thyroid hormones play key role in development of the brain, study finds

Thyroid hormones are very important for the development of the brain. And when the transporters of these hormones are not functioning properly, the consequences for the development of the cerebellum or 'the little brain' are very serious.

6 Feb 2017