Intervention possible in form of autism
Autism is a mysterious disease. One form of severe autism, Angelman syndrome, has been linked with defects in a gene, UBE3A, that helps people make sense of the world around them. New research (Nature Neuroscience, May 10, 2009) may provide clues into how to intervene and blunt the disease's devastating impact.
As babies grow, they process sensory information from their environments and strengthen or weaken the billions of connections in their brains. Scientists call this "plasticity." Working with JAX® Mice that model Angelman syndrome, researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina led by Benjamin Philpot discovered that the gene defect impairs plasticity in the mice, leading to deficits in early brain development.
Furthermore, the loss of plasticity was determined to be reversible, raising the possibility that behavioral or pharmaceutical therapies may prove effective in improving brain function in Angelman syndrome patients. The findings may also translate to other neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Rett syndrome and other forms of autism.
