New drug offers hope in bid to beat autism

SCIENTISTS are hoping to develop a drug that can help to treat an inherited form of autism.

Edinburgh University researchers are investigating Fragile X syndrome, which affects one in 4,000 boys and one in 6,000 girls in the UK and causes behaviour and speech problems, and epilepsy.

At present there is no cure for the condition and sufferers are offered occupational therapy and speech and language therapy.

The academics used a new drug in mice who have a form of Fragile X – and whose genetic makeup mirrored that seen in the DNA of people with the syndrome – to target their faulty brain function. The treatment helped the brain to ‘self-correct’, improving cell function and reducing seizures.

They found enhancing a brain receptor, known as M4, with drugs led to normalised brain activity and reduced seizures in mice.

Dr Emily Osterweil, of the university’s Patrick Wild Centre, said: ‘Our next steps will be to understand more about the role of the M4 receptor in brain signalling in Fragile X, and its potential role in drug development studies.’

The study, partly funded by the Wellcome Trust and The Royal Society, was published yesterday in the journal Neuron.