Autism-Spectrum Disorder Reversed in Mice

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Found this today:

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns? ... news_rss20


The symptoms of Rett syndrome – a genetic disorder that causes mental retardation and impairs movement – have been fully reversed in a mouse model of the disease, researchers report.

The findings give hope that scientists might one day find a cure for the condition and related illnesses, including autism. But experts caution that developing such treatments for humans will take many years.

I don't believe it one bit. All this is having the excuse for NTs to change us.

I wouldn't say it quite like that. It's our decision at the end of the day, but i believe alot of us would be interested in at least having a partial 'cure'.

But then again, after growing and developing with it, it would kinda obliterate who we are and the people we have become..

I agree to you but statement. The above I'm disagreeing to.

Retts is not the same as autism. I find the study irrelevant. I didn't know mice had a big problem with autism and mental retardation anyway.

Rett syndrome represents only a small percent of the autism spectrum. Realistically
the treatment is abortion of fetus with the faulty copy of the MECP2 gene. Longer term
maybe gene therapy in very young people or genetic engineering it out of the
genome.

The genes related to most other autism spectrum are not well understood but the treatment options likely are the same unlikely anyone living at the time of these treatments are known would benefit.

My guess is chemicals will be developed that will improve social cognition in AS but
they want be gene based, but highly selective agents effecting known or unknown
neurotransmitter receptor proteins.

I agree with this. The symptoms that they managed to reverse in the mice (irregular breathing, reduced motion, difficulty walking), while still complex like anything in biology, are very simple compared to the loss of cognitive skills.

I find it highly probable there are certain events, such as the formation of certain synapses, that need to occur within a certain window for the brain to think normally. Since breathing is a reflexive process and simple movements are likewise evolutionarily "primitive", it is easy to see that the neurons controlling these would wire up almost unconditionally. This would allow them to gain proper function if a damaging mutation were corrected fairly soon after birth. On the other hand, complex and evolutionarily recent capacities like language likely have many more things that have to go just right the first time.

Rett syndrome isn't an autism spectrum disorder, it's a pervasive developmental disorder.

uhh its the same thing dude

No it isn't or I wouldn't have bothered to state it.

autism is a pdd dude. wikipedia it. retts syndrome is a pdd

here i'll do it for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervasive_ ... l_disorder

Isn't that what I said? I said it is a pervasive developmental disorder, not an autism spectrum disorder. I thought that Asperger's, autism and PDD-NOS were considered autism spectrum disorders, and Rett syndrome was considered only a pervasive developmental disorder.

Also, quit calling me 'dude'.

no thats not what you said, maybe you should go back up a few replys to see what you said. pdd= a broad term for autism and its related disorders wich retts syndrome is apart of

Allow me to quote myself.

Sure looks like that's what I said.

Like I said, I thought Asperger's, autism and PDD-NOS were considered to be autism spectrum disorders. I also though Rett syndrome was considered to be a pervasive developmental disorder, as well as Asperger's, autism and PDD-NOS. Therefore meaning, there is a difference between the two terms.

Sorry, this has gone a bit off-topic.

wich is wrong, pdd and autism are the same thing. not two different things dude