Scientists ‘switch off’ autism using $3 epilepsy drug: study

health

To Adriana Diaz

February 14, 2023 | 12:40 PM

Scientists report groundbreaking discovery: $3 per pill epilepsy drug could be used to ‘switch off’ symptoms of autism in mice, new study says is reporting. Peer-reviewed research published Tuesday in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry.

Autism spectrum disorders are complex developmental disorders that affect how an estimated 5.4 million (2.2%) adults (and 1 in 44 children) in the United States perceive and socialize others. Influence. It is often accompanied by abnormalities such as epilepsy and hyperactivity, according to . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

German expert team Hector Institute for Translational Brain Research discovered that the drug lamotrigine is an antiepileptic drug first approved for use 1994 in the United States — reduced behavioral and social problems associated with disability.

Their discovery is now touted as the closest yet to a potential human cure.

“Clearly, drug treatment in adulthood can alleviate brain cell dysfunction and counteract the behavioral abnormalities typical of autism,” said lead investigator and cell biologist Moritz Mohr.[This occurs] Even if the absence of MYT1L impairs brain development during development of the organism. “

Lamotrigine, sold under brand names such as Lamictal, Treat epilepsy and stabilize mood For those with bipolar disorder.

generally, Less than $3 per tabletworks by reversing changes to brain cells caused by genetic mutations.

Scientists have spent years searching intensively for the molecular abnormalities that cause ASD and have identified the MYT1L protein as playing a role in a variety of neurological disorders.

This protein, a so-called transcription factor produced by almost every nerve cell in the body, determines which genes are activated within the cell. It also “protects neuronal identity by inhibiting other developmental pathways that program cells toward muscle or connective tissue.”

Mutations in this protein have previously been associated with other neurological disorders and brain malformations.

To test the protein’s effects on autism symptoms, HITBR researchers genetically ‘switched off’ MYT1L in mouse and human neurons. They found that this led to electrophysiological hyperactivation of neurons in mice and humans, impairing neuronal function.

Mice lacking MYT1L suffered from brain abnormalities and exhibited several behavioral changes typical of ASD, including social impairment and hyperactivity.

The researchers noted that the most “impressive” response was the finding that MYT1L-deficient neurons produced extra sodium channels normally restricted to cells within the myocardium.

These proteins are important for electrical conductivity and cell function as they allow sodium ions to cross the cell membrane. Neurons that overproduce these sodium channels can cause electrophysiological hyperactivity, a common symptom of autism.

“Treatment of MYT1L-deficient neurons with lamotrigine restored electrophysiological activity to normal. In mice, the drug was even able to suppress ASD-associated behaviors such as hyperactivity,” the statement continued. rice field.

These promising results come as autism rates skyrocket in the New York metropolitan area. Autism diagnoses tripled in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas, from 1% of the population in 2000 to 3% in 2016.

It is believed that part of the dramatic increase in these diagnoses is due to an increase in diagnoses in children without intellectual disability, and thus has not been previously identified.

However, previous more accurate diagnoses could not fully explain the CDC’s estimated rising trend. Experts warn that women’s growing tendency to give birth later in life may also be contributing to the increase in births.

Meanwhile, a clinical trial is currently planned to study the effects of lamotrigine on MYT1L, and although the study is currently limited to mice, the results are promising, the study highlights.