Callum Cup 2017 Raised over $9200 for Fragile X Research
Millburn United’s Callum Cup raised $9K+ for FRAXA, honoring Callum Murphy. Huge thanks to Andrew Murphy, Nick Dawes & all donors!
Biomarker Discovery and Validation for Fragile X Syndrome
This grant supported discovery of protein-based biomarkers for Fragile X to create objective outcome measures that translate from mouse studies to human trials.
Fragile X Nervous (System) Breakdown
“The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.” That’s how Lynne E. Maquat, PhD, describes the process of how her research extended to Fragile X syndrome to better understand it and ultimately find advanced treatments.
Repurposing Available Drugs to Treat Fragile X Syndrome – FRAXA Initiatives
FRAXA Research Foundation was founded in 1994 to fund biomedical research aimed at finding a cure for Fragile X syndrome and, ultimately, autism. We prioritize translational research with the potential to lead to improved treatments for Fragile X in the near term. Our early efforts involved supporting a great deal of basic neuroscience to understand the cause of Fragile X. By 1996, these efforts had already begun to yield results useful for drug repurposing. To date, FRAXA has funded well over $25 million in research, with over $3 million of that for repurposing existing drugs for Fragile X.
Fragile X Research Tackles High Anxiety – Peter Vanderklish
Yes, we all know the signs of Fragile X anxiety: Ears begin turning red followed by incessant pacing, heavy breathing, stiffening body, flapping, jumping, avoidance or yelling. Sometimes, it’s the more severe screaming, pinching, scratching, biting and general tearing things up or, worse, the nuclear meltdown.
PIKE 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.
A Kinase Assay as a Biomarker for Fragile X Syndrome
Dr. Frank Kooy at the University of Antwerp investigated whether phosphorylation abnormalities are a suitable biomarker for clinical trials in Fragile X syndrome.
University of Cambridge Startup Healx is Rapidly Identifying Existing Drugs to Help Fragile X Patients
FRAXA awarded $44,000 to Healx in 2017 for drug repurposing to find new treatments for Fragile X syndrome. The results of this study include eight top “hits” which show promise for Fragile X. FRAXA is further investigating these hits.
Trial and No Error: Better Outcomes for Clinical Trials in Fragile X Syndrome
Johns Hopkins researcher Christina Timmerman, PhD, searches for a less subjective method to determine if a drug is working in patients with Fragile X syndrome. Many parents of children with Fragile X syndrome were crushed when promising drug trials were unexpectedly stopped a few years ago because subjective behavior-based outcome measures did not justify continuing the trials. The strong feelings linger today. If all goes well with Christina Timmerman’s research, future drug trials may be able to continue with additional metrics for assessment, until there are advanced treatments or even a cure for Fragile X syndrome.
NIH Investigator Carolyn Beebe Smith, PhD, Looks to Improve Sleep in Fragile X Syndrome
Our sons with Fragile X Syndrome typically go to bed early and rise early. Sometimes they jump on us while we are sleeping at 3 a.m., excited to start their day. For heaven’s sake, why? The answer may come from Carolyn Beebe Smith, PhD, senior investigator, Section on Neuroadaptation and Protein Metabolism, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. She is studying why children, in particularly boys, with FXS have problems sleeping.
The 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.
New Fragile X Clinical Trial for Children Launching in June 2017
Rush University Medical Center Professor Elizabeth M. Berry-Kravis, MD, PhD, has launched and is recruiting participants for a large-scale clinical trial to study effects of AFQ056, an mGluR5 blocker, on learning in young children.
Mark Bear’s Goal: Disease-Modifying Treatments for Fragile X
Researcher Mark Bear, PhD, Picower Professor of Neuroscience, sees success developing disease-modifying treatments for Fragile X syndrome and other developmental brain disorders. Finally, hope. And it comes from his lab, The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Function of FMRP and Test of a Novel Therapeutic Approach in a Fragile X Mouse Model
FRAXA-supported work has identified DgkK as a critical enzyme lost in Fragile X. Drugs that raise DgkK levels may correct brain signaling and improve symptoms.
Correcting Defects in Astrocyte Signaling in Fragile X Syndrome
Astrocytes, brain cells which support neurons, do not transmit signals. Fragile X treatment strategies have been proposed based on correction of “astrocyte phenotypes”.
Sensory Hypersensibility in Fragile X Syndrome and BK Channel Openers
With $366,100 in FRAXA funding, researchers tested BK channel–opening drugs to fix sensory abnormalities in Fragile X mice; early results showed broad behavioral rescue.
Fragile X Mutant Mouse Models
With $375,000 in grants from FRAXA, Dr. David Nelson developed an array of advanced mouse models of Fragile X. These models are available at Jackson Labs (JAX).
MicroRNAs as Biomarkers in Fragile X Syndrome
The team at Johns Hopkins University studied groups of small RNAs, known as microRNAs, which are greatly decreased in brain tissue of Fragile X mice vs. normal controls.
Repurposing Drugs to Dampen Hyperactive Nonsense-Mediated Decay in Fragile X Syndrome
FRAXA-funded research showed nonsense-mediated mRNA decay is overactive in Fragile X, pointing to existing NMD-suppressing drugs like caffeine as potential treatments.
Kimberly Huber, PhD, Explores Hyperexcitability in Fragile X Syndrome
What causes hyperexcitability? Dr. Kimberly Huber seeks to understand how FMRP regulates connections between brain cells and the function of brain circuits.
Altered Sleep in Fragile X Syndrome: Basis for a Potential Therapeutic Target
With this FRAXA grant, Dr. Carolyn B. Smith and Dr. Rache Sare at the National Institute of Mental Health investigated the basis of sleep problems in Fragile X syndrome.
Enhancement of NMDA Receptor Signaling for the Treatment of Fragile X Syndrome
Drs. Emily Osterweil and Stephanie Barnes investigated NMDA receptor signaling and how rebalancing protein synthesis could correct Fragile X brain abnormalities.
Identifying Biomarkers for Fragile X Syndrome – A Study in Argentina
Bio·mark·er, noun, a distinctive biological or biologically derived indicator of a process, event, or condition. Doesn’t help? Well, it’s perfectly clear to Argentinian researchers Patricia Cogram, PhD, and Paulina Carullo, MD, from the FLENI Institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They understand there is an urgent need for validated biomarkers after recent Fragile X syndrome clinical trials have failed on their primary endpoints.
Rolling Stone Magazine: Luke’s Best Chance: One Man’s Fight for His Autistic Son
Rolling Stone’s Paul Solotaroff shares his son Luke’s Fragile X journey, exploring what adulthood looks like for families like ours.