Stop the presses, autistic mice cured for the 854,382th time, your kid still Shit Out of Luck though ...

Autism-like behaviors reversed in mice: New hope for understanding autism

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2012) — Researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal have identified a crucial link between protein synthesis and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which can bolster new therapeutic avenues.  

Regulation of protein synthesis, also termed mRNA translation, is the process by which cells manufacture proteins. This mechanism is involved in all aspects of cell and organism function. A new study in mice has found that abnormally high synthesis of a group of neuronal proteins called neuroligins results in symptoms similar to those diagnosed in ASD. The study also reveals that autism-like behaviors can be rectified in adult mice with compounds inhibiting protein synthesis, or with gene-therapy targeting neuroligins. Their results are published in the journalNature.

More Autistic Mice HEALED: New study shows disorder of neuronal circuits in autism is reversible

Thank God, more autistic rats are being healed.

Disorder of neuronal circuits in autism is reversible, new study suggests

ScienceDaily (Sep. 14, 2012) — People with autism suffer from a pervasive developmental disorder of the brain that becomes evident in early childhood. Peter Scheiffele and Kaspar Vogt, Professors at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, have identified a specific dysfunction in neuronal circuits that is caused by autism. In the journal Science, the scientists also report about their success in reversing these neuronal changes. These findings are an important step in drug development for the treatment for autism.

 According to current estimates, about one percent of all children develop an autistic spectrum disorder. Individuals with autism may exhibit impaired social behavior, rigid patterns of behavior and limited speech development. Autism is a hereditary developmental disorder of the brain. A central risk factor for the development of autism are numerous mutations in over 300 genes that have been identified, including the gene neuroligin-3, which is involved in the formation of synapses, the contact junction between nerve cells.  More @  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120914080642.htm 

Scientists find how faulty gene related to "autism like" symptoms AGAIN

Scientists find how faulty gene causes brain changes in autism | Business Standard

Scientists have discovered how a defective gene in autistic people triggers brain changes that lead to behavioural disorders. 

Researchers from the University of California - Davis Health System Institute found that a defective gene called 'pten' reduces energy production in neurons leading to brain changes which cause antisocial and prolonged repetitive behaviour- traits found in autism. 

Previous research has shown that the gene is defective in children with autism, but its effect on neurons in the brain was not known.   More @ http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/scientists-find-how-faulty-gene-causes-brain-changes-in-autism/43210/

Preventing Seizure Induced Autism (rapamycin)

Preventing autism after epilepsy - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee

Specifically, the study demonstrated that a group of signaling molecules, known collectively as the mTOR pathway, shows increased activation after a seizure. This increased signaling – above and beyond the surge that normally occurs early in life – disrupted the normal balance of synapse and circuit development to produce epilepsy and altered social behavior. Rapamycin treatment inhibited mTOR signaling, reducing susceptibility to seizures and preventing seizure-induced changes in the synapses. 

The study uncovers a new link whereby epilepsy and autism may interact in early development. Last December, Jensen and colleagues published a related study finding that seizures exaggerated excitation and synaptic strengthening too soon in a rat model, causing synapses to lose their plasticity -- their ability to reconfigure in response to input from the outside world. When they gave the rats a drug called NBQX, which blocks receptors associated with excitation, these problems were reversed. 

More @ http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/02/4460761/preventing-autism-after-epilepsy.html

Linked to Autism: Skinny Bitches Theory & Serotonin Transporters (mouse study)

AutismParents.NET! » The Big List of S*%# Linked to Autism: Curvy Women & Serotonin Transporters

Two new entries on The Big List of S*%# Linked to Autism today.  One that sounds like it makes some sense and another that sounds like some researchers with too much time on their hands.  First, another new study where scientists are able to replicate autism symptoms and an over abundance of serotonin, which is common to kids with autism. 

More @  http://autismparents.net/the-big-list-of-s-linked-to-autism-curvy-women-serotonin-transporters/

Another novel mouse model for autism yields amazing clues AGAIN

Novel mouse model for autism yields clues to a 50-year-old mystery

Serotonin is a brain chemical that carries signals across the synapse, or gap between nerve cells. The supply of serotonin is regulated by the serotonin transporter (SERT). In 2005, a team of Vanderbilt researchers led by Randy Blakely and James Sutcliffe identified rare genetic variations in children with ASD that disrupt SERT function.
In a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers report the creation of a mouse model that expressed the most common of these variations. 

The change is a very small one in biochemical terms, yet it appears to cause SERT in the brain to go into overdrive and restrict the availability of serotonin at synapses.
"The SERT protein in the brain of our mice appears to exhibit the exaggerated function and lack of regulation we saw using cell models," said Blakely, director of the Vanderbilt Silvio O. Conte Center for Neuroscience Research. 

"Remarkably, these mice show changes in social behavior and communication from early life that may parallel aspects of ASD," noted first author Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, assistant professor of psychiatry, pediatrics and pharmacology.
The researchers conclude that a lack of serotonin during development may lead to long-standing changes in the way the brain is wired. 

More @ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120320115625.htm

The Big List of S*%# Linked to Autism: Flame Retardant Chemical Edition (BDE-47)

A new one for the "might cause Autism" list ... exposure to flame retardant chemical.

The researchers said the study is the first to link genetics and epigenetics with exposure to a flame retardant chemical. The research was conducted in the offspring of mice genetically engineered for the autism phenotype found in Rett syndrome, a disorder that occurs primarily in females and causes regression in expressive language, motor skills and social reciprocity in late infancy. The condition affects about 1 in 10,000 children.

The Big List of S*%# Linked to Autism

• Abortions - (Prior abortions increase risk of autism in subsequent children)
• Air Pollution (Mercury in air pollution = more autism)
• Anti-Depressants (Mom on autism = more autism)
• Birth Weight HIGH (more weight = more autism.  Related, see big head.)
• Birth Weight LOW (less weight = more autism)
• Brain size (Bigger brains = more autism)
• Brain Cells (Too many neurons = more autism)
• Cell phones (More cell phones = more autism)
• Clever Parents (Smart parents = more autism)
• Clomid (Clomid = more autism, see IVF)
• Closely Spaced Births (Born soon after sibling = more autism)
• Complications at Birth (Catch all, any complication = more autism)
• Father’s age (older dad = more autism)
• Flame retardant chemical (exposure to flame retardant  BDE-47 linked to autism)
• Genetic (squirrely genes = more autism)
• Highways (Mom lives near freeway = autism twice as likely)
• Internet (Increased Internet usage = more autism)
• IVF (Invitro Fertilization) - (IVF = More autism)
• Lead (More lead exposure = more autism)
• Lyme Disease (linked to autism)
• Metabolism (Poor metabolism = more autism)
• Missing DNA (missing DNA in boys = more autism)
• Mother’s age (older mom = more autism)
• Neanderthals (Evolution vaguely linked to autism)
• Pasteurized Milk (Pasteurization = more autism)
• Pesticides (More pesticides = more autism)
• Premature birth (Premature baby = more autism)
• Rainfall (higher precipitation areas = more autism)
• Smoking (Mom smoking during pregnancy = more autism)
• Television (More TV watching = more autism)
• Tylenol (More Tylenol = more autism)
• Vinyl Flooring (House with vinyl flooring = more autism)
• Winter Conception (Mom and Dad get busy in the Winter = more autism)

Seizure Damage Reversed In Rats

Seizure Damage Reversed In Rats By Inhibitory Drug Targeting Neurologic Pathways

About half of newborns who have seizures go on to have long-term intellectual and memory deficits and cognitive disorders such as autism, but why this occurs has been unknown. In the December 14 Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston detail how early-life seizures disrupt normal brain development, and show in a rat model that it might be possible to reverse this pathology by giving certain drugs soon after the seizure.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/239165.php