Mental Retardation News and Research

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TSRI study offers first look at early stages of brain development in patients with Fragile X syndrome

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute is giving researchers a first look at the early stages of brain development in patients with Fragile X syndrome, a disorder that causes mild to severe intellectual disability and is the most common genetic cause of autism spectrum disorder.

31 Jan 2017

Aluminum cookware made from scrap metal poses serious and unrecognized health risk

Aluminum cookware made from scrap metal in countries around the world poses a serious and previously unrecognized health risk to millions of people according to a new study.

23 Jan 2017

Japanese researchers discover new method for predicting congenital CMV infection in fetuses

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection can cause serious complications such as hearing difficulties and mental retardation in affected infants.

25 Nov 2016

Researchers identify potential new treatment for brain cancer by targeting genes linked to microcephaly

University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers have identified a potential new treatment for brain cancer by learning from a rare condition that can cause microcephaly.

1 Nov 2016

Researchers to evaluate new treatment strategy for treating infants with perinatal brain injury

Perinatal brain injury often results in severe developmental disabilities, including neurodevelopmental delay and cerebral palsy.

13 Oct 2016

Increasing specific brain fats could be potential strategy for preventing epileptic seizures

Increasing the concentration of specific fats in the brain could suppress epileptic seizures. This is evident from ground-breaking research carried out by the research groups of Professor Patrik Verstreken and Professor Wim Versées.

26 Sep 2016

Researchers propose new explanation for symptoms of fragile X syndrome

Until recently, scientists thought they understood one of the underlying causes of fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability in the United States.

20 Sep 2016

Scientists discover potential new genetic causes for intellectual disability

An international group of researchers has for the first time identified a set of 30 inherited recessive genes that play a role in intellectual disability (ID), a neurodevelopmental disorder that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, affects as many as 213 million people around the world.

9 Sep 2016

Cryopreserved human umbilical cord patch shows promise in treating fetal spina bifida

A patch made from cryopreserved human umbilical cord may be a novel method for treating spina bifida in utero, according to researchers at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

12 Jul 2016

Researchers identify astroglia-mediated mechanism for causing FXS symptoms in mice

A study published today in the Journal of Neuroscience led by Yongjie Yang of Tufts University School of Medicine identifies an astroglial trigger mechanism as contributing to symptoms of fragile X syndrome in mice.

6 Jul 2016

Maternal immune dysfunction linked to risk of autism with intellectual disability in children

Pregnant women with higher levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, proteins that control communication between cells of the immune system, may be at significantly greater risk of having a child with autism combined with intellectual disability, researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute have found.

8 Jun 2016

Chemists design set of molecules that promote microscopic, anatomical changes in neurons

Chemists at the University of California San Diego have designed a set of molecules that promote microscopic, anatomical changes in neurons associated with the formation and retention of memories. These drug candidates also prevent deterioration of the same neuronal structures in the presence of amyloid-beta, a protein fragment that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

11 Apr 2016

Baker’s yeast could help in finding disease-causing mutations

It's easier than ever to sequence our DNA, but doctors still can't exactly tell from our genomes which diseases might befall us. Professor Fritz Roth is setting out to change this by going to basics -- to our billion-year-old cousin, baker's yeast.

7 Apr 2016

Shugoshin protein maintains proper gene expression in subtelomeres

A research group discovered a new function of the chromosomal terminus, which may lead to the clarification of the mechanism for developing abnormal telomere structure such as multiple malformation and mental retardation.

29 Mar 2016

Genetic syndrome may underlie some Parkinson's cases

Rare deletions at chromosome 22q11.2 are present at an increased rate in patients with Parkinson's disease, researchers report in The Lancet Neurology.

25 Mar 2016

Revealing dynamic protein complexes with NMR: an interview with Elisar Barbar

Most proteins are involved in interactions with one or a few functional ligands, but some proteins, like light chain 8 (LC8), have numerous binding partners. LC8 interacts with more than 100 functionally different proteins, from viral proteins to motor proteins to proteins involved in cell division.

From Bruker BioSpin - NMR, EPR and Imaging 18 Feb 2016

Researchers identify cause of rare syndrome consistent with Fanconi Anemia

An international team of researchers has established the cause of rare syndrome consistent with Fanconi Anemia: a de novo mutation in a so called RAD51 gene, which is responsible for repairing damages in the DNA.

23 Dec 2015

Harvard's Kevin Staley honored with AES Research Recognition Award for Basic Science

The American Epilepsy Society announces that Kevin Staley, M.D., professor of child neurology and mental retardation at Harvard Medical School and chief of pediatric neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is being honored with the AES Research Recognition Award for Basic Science at the Society's 69th annual meeting in Philadelphia.

8 Dec 2015

Study provides biochemical links between genes linked to autism and the inhibition of nerve cells

A study led by the University of Utah School of Medicine provides new insights into how the subtle changes within cells, caused by disruptions in a gene called Kirrel3, could underlie some types of intellectual disability and autism.

18 Nov 2015

Researchers successfully convert skin cells into fully functional placenta-generating cells

Regenerative medicine is a new and expanding area that aims to replace lost or damaged cells, tissues or organs in the human body through cellular transplantation. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent cells that are capable of long-term growth, self-renewal, and can give rise to every cell, tissue and organ in the fetus's body.

15 Oct 2015