Over 50 #FriendsofFRAXA showed up on the the day after Thanksgiving, November 24, at the Bruins game against the Pittsburgh Penguins to sell 50/50 raffle tickets. Our amazing volunteers sold $34,938 in tickets resulting in $17,469 donated to FRAXA research. This was the highest amount the Bruins sold this year in raffle tickets!
Read moreAuthor: FRAXA Research Foundation
Meet Makenzie!
Meet #FriendofFRAXA Makenzie! If you would like to nominate someone as a #FriendofFRAXA, we welcome all who have been touched by Fragile X, including friends, grandparents, siblings, professionals and companions alike to become a #FriendofFRAXA with the goal of putting a face to Fragile X for those who may not know someone directly.
Read moreIn Their Own Words: Reports From the International Fragile X Workshop
The 18th International Fragile X and Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders Workshop in Quebec, Canada, was a great success, featuring Fragile X much more heavily than any previous meeting in this series! We asked our speakers to summarize their work in their own words, with brief updates from researchers investigating Fragile X.
Read moreFragile X in the Forefront of International Conference
Today the 18th International Fragile X and Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders Workshop kicks off in Quebec, Canada. For the next six days, scientists from around the world will gather at this workshop to focus on recent breakthroughs in our understanding of Fragile X, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and related neurodevelopmental disorders. This biennial meeting has been instrumental to the discovery of many disease-causing genes and the development of therapeutic strategies for these disorders.
Read moreCombinatorial Drug Treatment in a Model of Fragile X Syndrome using Novel Biomarkers
With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation awarded over 2016-2017, University of California researchers Khaleel Razak, PhD, and Jonathan W. Lovelace, PhD, are exploring drug combinations to limit hypersensitivity to sounds in Fragile X mice.
Read moreMicroRNA Mediated Astroglial GLT1 Dysregulation in Fragile X
Almost all brain research focuses on neurons – nerve cells. However, the brain has many more glial cells which support, nourish, and protect the neurons. FRAXA Research Foundation awarded a 2017 grant $90,000 to support Dr. Yang’s studies of how changes in glial cells contribute to Fragile X syndrome. This grant is funded by a grant from the Pierce Family Fragile X Foundation.
Read moreAutophagy is a Novel Therapeutic Target of Impaired Cognition in Fragile X Syndrome
Dr. Suzanne Zukin, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is expert on signaling pathways in the brain and the regulation of synaptic plasticity. With this 2017 grant of $90,000 from FRAXA Research Foundation, she and her team are exploring autophagy, which is how cells clean house, in Fragile X.
Read moreQuantitative Assessment of the Serotonin System in a Mouse Model of Fragile X Syndrome
FRAXA Research Foundation awarded a grant of $90,000 over two years to Clinton Canal, PhD. Dr. Canal, previously a research assistant professor at Northeastern University, has just launched his own lab at Mercer University in Atlanta, GA, to focus on Fragile X research.
Read moreTargeted Transcriptional Reactivation of FMR1 in Fragile X Syndrome Stem Cells
With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation awarded in 2016, University of Michigan researcher Peter Todd, MD, PhD, is using CRISPR to selectively turn the Fragile X gene back on in stem cells.
Read moreDefining Subcellular Specificity of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor (mGluR5) Antagonists
With $217,500 in grants from FRAXA Research Foundation, Dr. Karen O’Malley and team studied the function of mGluR5 when it is inside cells. Many of the symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) are thought to arise due to overactive metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) signaling, which is normally opposed by the protein missing in FXS, Fragile X Protein (FMRP).
Read moreInvestigating Gene Reactivation to Treat Fragile X Syndrome
With a $180,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation from 2016-2017, Dr. Jeannie Lee and her team at Harvard are working to reactivate the gene that is silenced in Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreMechanisms of Tolerance to Chronic mGluR5 Inhibition
Over the past few years, both Novartis and Roche sponsored large-scale clinical trials of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) to treat Fragile X syndrome (FXS). With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation in 2015-2017, Dr. Mark Bear’s team will explore if mGlu5 NAMs dosed chronically causes tolerance, and if so, how it develops and to probe new avenues to prevent or circumvent it.
Read morePrefrontal Cortex Network (PFC) Dynamics in Fragile X Syndrome
With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation from 2016-2017, Dr. Daniel Johnston and Dr. Jenni Siegel at the University of Texas at Austin are analyzing pre-frontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction in the Fragile X model. They have preliminary evidence that Fragile X mice are severely impaired in a prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent task.
Read more$75,000 Raised for Fragile X Research by Friends of FRAXA at our Fall Fling
On Thursday, September 7 over 150 friends of FRAXA joined us at the Smith Barn at the Peabody Historical Society for the second annual FRAXA Fall Fling. Together we raised over $75,000 for Fragile X research — including a hand-delivered check for $25,000! Families from as far away as Miami, Florida joined us, even with hurricane Irma approaching their home state. Unfortunately, Irma ambushed Weather Channel Storm Tracker and Fragile X parent, Jim Cantore.
Read moreAltered Neural Excitability and Chronic Anxiety in a Mouse Model of Fragile X
With a $35,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation in 2016, Dr. Peter Vanderklish at Scripps Research Institute, and colleagues, explored the basis of anxiety in Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreDevelopment of a High-Content Synapse Assay to Screen Therapeutics for Fragile X Syndrome
With a $45,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation in 2009, Dr. Mark Bear and Dr. Asha Bhakar used High Content Screening (HCS) to develop an assay sensitive to the effect of the FXS genotype. This project was funded in full by NIH after the first year.
Read moreClinical Trial of Ganaxolone in Patients with Fragile X Syndrome
With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation funded during 2014-2015, Dr. Frank Kooy and colleagues at the University of Antwerp are conducting a double blind crossover trial of ganaxolone in patients with Fragile X syndrome. Results of this study were mixed (see Marinus: Results from Phase 2 Exploratory Clinical Study Support Continued Development of Ganaxolone in Fragile X Syndrome.)
Read moreFRAXA Wins Award for Drug Repurposing
Cures Within Reach, the leading global nonprofit focused on repurposing research as a fast track to saving patient lives, has awarded FRAXA Research Foundation the 2017 Golan Christie Taglia Patient Impact Philanthropy Award for efforts to find treatments for the rare disease Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreWhich is the right FMRP for Therapeutic Development of Fragile X Syndrome?
With a 2-year, $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation over 2016-17, Dr. Samie Jaffrey at Weill Medical College of Cornell University explored which FMRP isoform is the best target to treat Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreGenes and Gems Fundraiser raises $40,000 for Fragile X Research
On April 8, our fabulous friends of FRAXA in Ohio put on a great show as they held their Genes and Gems fundraiser in Columbus. Over 300 families, friends and supporters of Fragile X research attended. The event included an inspiring presentation by Fragile X physician and researcher, Dr. Craig Erickson, from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Read moreTD Bank invites Friends of FRAXA to Watch the Bruins
Fifty friends of FRAXA enjoyed an amazing night at the TD Garden in Boston on March 30. They gathered to watch the Boston Bruins take on the Dallas Stars. It was a great opportunity for us to unite the greater Boston Fragile X community. We were able to convene and thank some of our local families and introduce them to university and biotech scientists who are working to find a cure for Fragile X. The night was made available by a generous donation of the Garden View Room by TD Bank.
Read moreCallum Cup 2017 Raised over $9200 for Fragile X Research
We are tremendously grateful to the Millburn United men’s soccer team, of Millburn, New Jersey, who held the 2017 Callum Cup on Sunday, July 2, 2017. They were honoring Callum Murphy, son of the team goalkeeper at Millburn United. Together with their friends and families, the team raised over $9000 for Fragile X research! This event was made possible by co-hosts Andrew Murphy and Nick Dawes. Donors, thank you all so much!
Read moreBiomarker Discovery and Validation for Fragile X Syndrome
With a $120,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation over 2015-2016, Dr. Eric Klann of New York University investigated potential new biomarkers in Fragile X syndrome and how to translate these markers from mouse models to human patients.
Read morePIKE as a Central Regulator of Synaptic Dysfunction in Fragile X Syndrome
With $255,000 from FRAXA Research Foundation, Dr. Suzanne Zukin at Albert Einstein College of Medicine studied signalling pathways in Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreThe New York Times, “Medical Charities Once Advised on Coping With a Disease. Now They Try to Cure It”
Propelled by genome sequencing and social media, thousands of charities have sprung up to finance, coordinate and oversee research for cures. Katie Clapp and her son, Andy, who has Fragile X, a disease that causes intellectual disability, with a therapy horse at Gateway Farm in Merrimac, Mass. Ms. Clapp helped form a group that has spent millions on research for a cure.
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