Mental Retardation News and Research

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March of Dimes urges FDA to approve Gestiva

The March of Dimes has urged Food and Drug Administration officials to promptly approve a commercial progesterone therapy that appears to prevent some premature births.

30 Aug 2006

DNA of human embryonic stem cells is chemically modified in a characteristic, predictable pattern

Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that are undergoing a period of intense cellular activity, including the chemical addition of methyl groups to specific DNA sequences in a process known as DNA methylation.

6 Aug 2006

Researchers identify earliest neuron in the embryonic human cerebral cortex

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the University of Oxford have identified the very first neurons in what develops into the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that makes humans human.

24 Jul 2006

Latest sequencing targets for NHGRI

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) has announced several new sequencing targets including the Northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys).

19 Jul 2006

Research shows which sex differences are developmental vs. sociological vs. hormonal

Differences in the way men and women perform verbal and visuospatial tasks have been well documented in scientific literature, but findings have been inconsistent as to whether men and women actually use different parts of their brains.

19 Jul 2006

Discovery of gene mutation gives hope for Down syndrome and Alzheimer's victims

Researchers in the U.S. have discovered a gene mutation that shrivels brain cells which they suspect is responsible for the mental retardation seen in Down syndrome.

6 Jul 2006

In vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors in embryo

The conditions in which embryos are cultured in the laboratory during in vitro fertilisation could be causing genetic errors that are associated with certain developmental syndromes and other abnormalities in growth and development, such as low birth weight.

19 Jun 2006

New roles for growth factors

During embryonic development, nerve cells hesitantly extend tentacle-like protrusions called axons that sniff their way through a labyrinth of attractive and repulsive chemical cues that guide them to their target.

18 Jun 2006

Antipsychotic use in children increasing

A steadily increasing number of patients younger than age 20 received prescriptions for antipsychotic medications between 1993 and 2002, according to a report published in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

9 Jun 2006

Organ-recipients' deaths prompt call for suppliers of pet rodents to screen for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

A case involving seven transplant recipients killed by a rodent-borne virus that they apparently acquired from donated and infected human organs has prompted a recommendation that regulatory authorities require suppliers of pet rodents to screen their colonies for the virus.

1 Jun 2006

Identification of molecule that links both sides of the brain

A Queensland Brain Institute-led team has identified a molecule that plays a key role in establishing the major nerve connections between each side of the adult brain.

24 May 2006

Researchers link novel mutated gene to mental retardation and imbalance syndrome

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a genetic cause for a form of pediatric brain malformation involving the cerebellum.

11 May 2006

NYU pediatric neurosurgeon reports on 25 children with tuberous sclerosis

Sadly, none of the treatments for epilepsy - anti-seizure medications, a procedure called vagus nerve stimulation, a special diet - could quell the electrical storms in the young boy's brain.

8 May 2006

New understanding of chromosomal glue

Researchers have a new understanding of the process cells use to ensure that sperm and eggs begin life with exactly one copy of each chromosome - a process that must be exquisitely regulated to prevent problems such as miscarriages and mental retardation.

8 May 2006

Mutated gene leads to JSRD

The research team, directed by Joseph Gleeson, M.D., Director of the Neurogenetics Laboratory at the UCSD School of Medicine and associate professor in the Department of Neurosciences, have identified a new gene that, when mutated, leads to JSRD. Their findings will be published on-line in advance of publication in the journal Nature Genetics.

8 May 2006

Iodine could have helped to spare many Chernobyl children from thyroid cancer

As the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl approaches, UNICEF says that the numbers of children who developed thyroid cancer could have been significantly lower if they had been consuming iodized salt in their daily diet at the time of the accident.

20 Apr 2006

Simple screening process opens door to treating rare metabolic diseases such as Tay-Sachs, Fabry and Gaucher syndromes

Rare metabolic diseases such as Tay-Sachs, Fabry and Gaucher syndromes are caused by enzyme deficiencies and typically have crippling, even fatal, consequences starting at very early ages.

13 Apr 2006

Researchers identify new disorder called cortical dysplasia-focal epilepsy syndrome

Researchers from the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Clinic for Special Children (CSC) in Strasburg, PA, have described a new childhood-onset disorder characterized by severe epilepsy and autistic traits, and identified its genetic basis.

11 Apr 2006

Special education data provide misleading trends of changing autism prevalence

If statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Education are to be believed, in 1992 the state of Illinois had only 322 diagnosed cases of autism among school children. In 2003, according to the same statistical source, Illinois had more than 6,000 children diagnosed as autistic.

3 Apr 2006

Cell-death mechanism linked to developmental and degenerative brain disorders

Conclusive evidence that neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and ataxias can be caused, at least in part, by specific gene defects that interfere with the electrical impulses of rapid-firing brain nerve cells called bursting neurons.

1 Mar 2006