Fwd: CAN to Fund research study on Oxidative Stress in Autism

[Guest guest]

Here's some information about an interesting study into how oxidative

stress may play a role in the development of autism.

 

EverydayMiraclesAutism , <gammicca@c...> wrote:

For folks that attended the ASA/OCC Bio-Med Conference and heard Dr.

Woody McGinnis speak on this subject you may be excited to hear about

CAN's new funding of this research by Dr. Ming. CAN is also funding

some other pretty interesting research and for folks that do not know

about CAN I'd as that you check out their website to find out more

about the AGRE research and other exciting things they are doing.

Xue, Ming M.D., Ph.D.

Project Description: Oxidative Stress in Autism

It is clear that autism is caused by the interaction of genetic and

environmental factors. One of the best understood causes of autism

is exposure during pregnancy to a chemical called thalidomide. In

laboratory experiments, thalidomide caused fetal malformation in

rabbits by a mechanism involving a process called oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress is counteracted by naturally occurring anit-oxidant

enzymes in our bodies that prevent oxidative stress from damaging our

cells. If this defense mechanism is deficient, oxidative stress can

lead to disorders. Dr. Ming suspects this defense mechanism may be

impaired in autism due to genetic factors. Such a defect in mother

or fetus can lead to oxidative stress during pregnancy or shortly

after birth which can cause autism later in life. In this study the

investigators will compare products of oxidative stress and defenses

against oxidative stress in children with autism with those of

unaffected children. They will also test for an altered frequency in

children with autism of genetic variants of one of the anti-oxidant

enzymes called glutathione peroxidase-1, a key enzyme for

developmental disorders, that could contribute4 to oxidative stress.

We expect to document that impaired anti-oxidative defense mechanism

is involved in autism, a finding that could lead to new approaches to

prevention and treatment of the disorder.

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