Possible new therapeutic treatments for intellectual disability in Down syndrome

A team of researchers led by Dr. Victoria Puig from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), which also involved the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), has studied the neural basis of intellectual disability in mice with Down syndrome and has discovered that the neural networks of brain circuits relevant to memory and learning are over-activated and that the connectivity of these circuits is poor. The researchers have also observed that neural activity during […]

Unlocking the Genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cason McKee was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old. Both of his parents worked with autistic children in the Texas school system, so they saw it coming. “Early on, when we first started noticing a difference in him, he was a typical 18-month old,” said Shannon McKee, Cason’s mother. “But between 18 months and 2 years, he started to lose his language and his interest in language. It happened gradually.” At Cason’s […]

What You Should Know About Coronavirus And People With Disabilities

The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak has everyone spooked, and hopefully, taking steps to control the outbreak and prepare to get through whatever may come of it. But one group faces additional risks and consequences, as well as anxieties: people with disabilities and or chronic illnesses. Here are five points to keep in mind about how the coronavirus outbreak affects disabled people: 1. The people most often cited as being at serious risk are largely, by some […]

New multiple sclerosis treatment trial compares stem cell transplantation to best available drugs

NIH-funded study focuses on severe forms of relapsing MS. A clinical trial has begun testing an experimental stem cell treatment against the best available biologic therapies for severe forms of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The trial, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, will compare the safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the two therapeutic approaches. MS is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s own […]

Fetal surgery benefits to repair spina bifida persist through school age

Children as young as 6 years old who underwent fetal surgery to repair a common birth defect of the spine are more likely to walk independently and have fewer follow-up surgeries, compared to those who had traditional corrective surgery after birth, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study appears in Pediatrics. The procedure corrects myelomeningocele, the most serious form of spina bifida, a condition in which the spinal column fails […]