Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Epilepsy Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;Neurology / Neuroscience Article Date: 22 Nov 2012 - 3:00 PST Current ratings for: New Epilepsy Drug From Fatty Acids 3 (1 votes) 4.5 (2 votes) By pinpointing exactly which fatty acids in the ketogenic diet are effective in controlling seizures, the researchers, from University College London (UCL) and Royal Holloway, hope they will lead to new anti-epileptic treatments that offer the benefit of the diet without its side effects. An early "in press" report of their work was published online in the journal Neuropharmacology on 20 November. Professor Matthew Walker, of UCL's Institute of Neurology, speaks about the value of their findings in a press statement: "Epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide and approximately a third of these people have epilepsy that is not adequately controlled by our present treatments. This discovery offers a whole new approach to the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsies in children and adults." The diet often works but draws criticism because it can lead to significant side effects such as constipation, low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia), growth retardation and bone fractures. While it is not clear exactly how the ketogenic diet works, … Continue reading →

Neural 'hyperconnections' caused by runaway protein production can be undone. By Dan Jones As diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder rise, the need for effective therapies has increased in urgency. Today, a paper in Nature describes two ways of reversing autism-like symptoms in a new mouse model of the condition. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects up to 1 in 110 people. Although a few drugs have shown promise in mouse models, none is able to treat the core social deficits common to ASD in humans. A team of researchers led by Nahum Sonenberg of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, created a new model of mouse autism, and then reversed its symptoms. They began by genetically engineering mice so that they lacked the gene Eif4ebp2. The 4E-BP2 protein that this produces suppresses the translation of certain messenger RNAs, so knocking out Eif4ebp2 allows the proteins that these mRNAs produce to be synthesized at above normal levels. Mice lacking Eif4ebp2 exhibit many autism-like symptoms, including poor social interaction, altered communication and repetitive behaviours. Sonenberg and his co-workers found that one group of proteins that proliferates in the absence of Eif4ebp2 is the neuroligins (NLGNs), which sit in the membrane of neurons and help … Continue reading →

Re: The Autism Project, Nov. 19 Pamelas Buttons story is at once about the resilience of the human spirit and the appalling obstacles put in its path. The fact that she was autistic makes both of these the more remarkable. The attempt to zap her into compliant normalcy through electroconvulsive treatment when she was 15 when she could not legally refuse it is symptomatic of a time and approach when do no harm meant much less than do anything to ensure normalcy. According to Pamela Button, the sheltered workshop that opened up when she was 16 saved her from a lifetime in an institution. How many others did not find such a place, but lived and died in bleak, isolated, cheerless places, their spirits broken, their voices silenced, and their stories untold? Julia Schneider, Stratford Your recent article about moms sometimes having symptoms of autism that affected their relationship with their autistic children. I worry that the impression left is that moms could be at fault for not demonstrating enough love. As a retired teacher of children with autism I can say that most parents were very loving and physically demonstrative, but their children were often limited in their ability … Continue reading →