Possible Cure for type of Mental Retardation in Sight June 22, 2008
Posted by Colloquy in Science, media, news.Tags: Evolution, Health, media, Medicine, news, Personal, Science
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I’m constantly amazed by scientists and researchers and the things they can achieve to make each of our lives better. Can you imagine a world where people don’t have to suffer mental retardation and/or Autism?
UCLA researchers discovered that an FDA-approved drug reverses the brain dysfunction inflicted by a genetic disease called tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Because half of TSC patients also suffer from autism, the findings offer new hope for addressing learning disorders due to autism.
“This is the first study to demonstrate that the drug rapamycin can repair learning deficits related to a genetic mutation that causes autism in humans. The same mutation in animals produces learning disorders, which we were able to eliminate in adult mice,” explained principal investigator Dr. Alcino Silva, professor of neurobiology and psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Our work and other recent studies suggest that some forms of mental retardation can be reversed, even in the adult brain.”
Keep your eyes and ears open about this topic and make sure you support “GOOD SCIENCE” education, because without it – amazing discoveries like this are less likely to happen.
