Researchers successfully reverse
experimentally induced autism spectrum disorders-like symptoms in mice, even in
adult mice, and shed new light on a possible underlying mechanism for why the
condition occurs.
by John
Tyburski
Copyright © Daily
Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Approximately
one to two percent of children born in the U.S. are diagnosed with autism
spectrum disorders (ASDs), a collection of conditions involving a number of
physical, cognitive, and social impairments. Despite extensive study, the
causes of ASDs are not fully understood, and no known cures exist. Recent
research published Tuesday in
the journal Translational Psychiatry indicates that ASDs may
be reversible or at least possibly managed better.
A team of
researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), led by Dr.
Robert Naviaux, professor of medicine and co-director of the Mitochondrial and
Metabolic Disease Center at UCSD, set out to test whether treating the underlying
metabolic disorders that accompany ASDs produces improvement in ASDs symptoms.
Past work in children with ASDs has shown temporary improvements in most
following high fever. Although the symptoms returned as the fevers subsided,
the observations suggested that ASD impairments are reversible.
The UCSD
researchers induced mice to be born with ASD-like symptoms by exposing pregnant
females to simulated viral infections. The mouse pups are born with ASD-like
symptoms that are thought to be the result of activation of cell danger
response (CDR), a metabolic response to threat (such as simulated viral
infection during gestation).
Then the
researchers inhibited the CDR response with a drug called suramin, a drug that
attacks purine pathways and has been around for treating African sleeping
sickness for nearly 100 years. The result of blocking CDR function with suramin
was a restoration of normal behavior in the mice with ASD-like symptoms.
“Cells
behave like countries at war,” said Naviaux. “When a threat begins, they harden
their borders. They don’t trust their neighbors. But without constant
communication with the outside, cells begin to function differently.”
“In the case
of neurons, it might be by making fewer or too many connections,” continued
Naviaux. “One way to look at this related to autism is this: when cells stop
talking to each other, children stop talking.”
The
researchers stressed caution in interpreting these results with mice in the
context of human applications. Regardless, a small phase one trial to
assess suramin in treating children with ASDs is planned for this year.
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