He knew that the same gene that caused fragile X also helped control protein production.
Most children with Fragile X Syndrome will also be found to have autism, that is genetic.
His first talk detailing the theory was at an invitation-only conference of fragile X experts in 2002.
While years of research remain, Bear theorizes those types of drugs might have application beyond fragile X and into autism in general.
The fragile X symptoms disappeared, suggesting that drugs that blocked the receptor--and thus reduced the amount of protein produced--might do the same thing.
Bear's subsequent experiments with mice with fragile X indicate that the brain makes too much of key proteins that prevent proper learning from occurring.
In the wake of his results Roche have begun testing an old class of experimental anxiety drugs called mGluR5 inhibitors in fragile X patients.
Seaside Therapeutics, which Bear cofounded, licensed a similar drug from Merck that is set to enter tests in fragile X patients early next year.
In the wake of his results Roche and Novartis have begun testing an old class of experimental anxiety drugs called mGluR5 inhibitors in fragile X patients.
Testing whether the drugs work in people with fragile X will take years, and it's far from clear that they could work with other forms of autism.
Bear's work in fragile X started with a chance encounter a decade ago with Emory University geneticist Stephen Warren, who discovered the gene for fragile X in 1991.
Initial tests of mGluR5 drugs are being conducted on adults with fragile X, but companies ultimately hope to move to treating kids, where the drugs could have a bigger impact.
Bear's work suggests that a specific class of drug already sitting on drug company shelves may help patients with an inherited disease called fragile X syndrome, a common cause of autism.
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