Fragile X Unplugged: Establishing Mobile EEG as the Next Frontier
Craig Erickson, PhD
Principal Investigator
Lisa De Stefano, PhD
FRAXA Postdoctoral Fellow
Lauren Schmitt, PhD
Co-Investigator
Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Cincinnati, OH
2024-2025 Grant Funding: $100,000
Summary
An electroencephalogram (EEG) can measure the brain's electrical activity in exquisite detail. It can be a powerful tool for evaluating treatments as part of clinical trials. But EEGS are complex and expensive.
With this grant, the team is simplifying and adapting EEG so that clinicians could administer it to patients in their homes. A home-based EEG test would be very useful for future clinical trials.
The Science
by Lisa De Stefano, PhD
Previous research in Fragile X syndrome (FXS) has identified a series of brain-based "biomarkers" that appear in mouse models of FXS but also in human participants using electroencephalography (EEG). Because of the similarity in findings across species, drugs can be screened quickly in mice to see whether they change brain activity before promising candidates are then tested in humans with FXS. However, because of the cost and complexity of typical research EEG, there is currently a lack of clinic sites that can study these features in humans. This means that clinical trials using EEG are slow to recruit and participants who complete them must often travel far distances.
The current study will test our ability to look at these "biomarkers" using a less complex EEG system that would be easier for clinics to adopt. We will also test our ability to collect data in participant homes, moving the burden of travel from families to researchers. We hope this project will improve our ability to use EEG in the context of clinical trials.
Meet the Scientists
Craig Erickson, MD, is a leading expert in Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and the director of the Fragile X Syndrome Research and Treatment Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. His primary research focus is investigating novel approaches to the treatment of Fragile X syndrome, from medications to gene therapy. He and his team have conducted a number of translational research studies and clinical trials with funding from FRAXA.
Lauren Schmitt, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and Director of Research Translation and Engagement at the Cincinnati Fragile X Research and Treatment Center. Her research focuses on identifying EEG and blood-based biomarkers that relate to cognition and behavior in FXS. She also in interested in better understanding how social-environmental factors impact clinical outcomes in FXS.
