Board index › General Discussion › News and Current Events

Missing protein may underlie autism: U.S. study (REUTERS)

Page 1 of 1 [ 2 posts ] 

Previous topic | Next topic

MrMark
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 3 Jul 2006
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,918
Location: Tallahassee, FL

06 Dec 2007, 11:16 am

Missing protein may underlie autism: U.S. study

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Autism and other brain disorders may be the result of a missing protein important for building communication networks in the brain, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that an enzyme called Cdk5 that instructs a synapse-building protein called CASK may be going awry, causing a breakdown in the formation of synapses.

Synapses allow information from one neuron to pass to another and are essential for the ability to learn and remember.

more...


_________________
"The cordial quality of pear or plum
Rises as gladly in the single tree
As in the whole orchards resonant with bees."
- Emerson


mmaestro
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Aug 2007
Age: 46
Gender: Male
Posts: 522
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

06 Dec 2007, 1:17 pm

Very interesting stuff, and it would certainly seem that this is highly compatible with being caused by a genetic issue, which is the generally accepted reason for autism. I wonder how you test it in humans, though? It sounds like this is a mere hypothesis right now, and removing the protein from mice affects synapse formation. So do you look for a lack of the protein in humans in.. what, blood samples?
Still, very interesting stuff.


_________________
"You're never more alone than when you're alone in a crowd"
-Captain Sheridan, Babylon 5

Music of the Moment: Radiohead - In Rainbows