Genetic engineering corrects Fragile X in mice
December 20th, 2007From Reuters:
Genetic engineering can correct the worst symptoms in mice with Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of mental retardation and autism, U.S. researchers reported in the journal Neuron.
They said it is possible a drug could do the same thing, perhaps providing a treatment for Fragile X syndrome and other causes of retardation and autism, too.
Fragile X causes seizures, impaired memory, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, severe mental retardation and accelerated body growth. It affects 90,000 to 100,000 Americans. There is no treatment.
The mutation in mice was created by investigator Mark Bear at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Related links:
Gene therapy ‘corrects Fragile X’ — BBC
A fix for one type of autism — Time Magazine
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