PLT Test Blog

When I google “autism” and “PAK1”, I keep seeing my own posts come up.   This is beginning to be a regular occurrence, when I research an idea.   Google “verapamil autism”, “clonazepam autism” “bumetanide autism” and even “NAC autism”, the same thing happens. So it is nice to have some further studies that also show the possible importance of PAK1 in treating autism.  This time it is from the University of Indiana and more precisely, Anantha Shekhar, Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine. We have the study’s abstract and the more people-friendly press release. Social learning and amygdala disruptions in Nf1 mice are rescued by blocking p21-activated kinase (PAK1) Abstract Children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are increasingly recognized as having a high prevalence of social difficulties and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). We demonstrated a selective social learning deficit in mice with deletion of a single Nf1 allele ( Nf1 +/− ), along with greater a...

Only a few months goes by without there being an uplifting report in the media of some breakthrough drug for autism.  These reports usually relate to research on mice. So where are the resulting approved drugs for use on humans? There still are no drugs approved for the core symptoms of autism.   It is quite likely that in spite of all the ongoing research, the situation will not change anytime soon. I was reading about yet another potential wonder treatment, based on research into a very old drug called Suramin .   This rather toxic drug has been shown to be effective in a particular mouse model of autism call MIA (Maternal Immune Activation).  There is some doubt as to whether the researchers have got the method of action correct, but nobody doubts the positive effect it had on some mice. Today’s post does not look at the science of Suramin, which is, by the way, another anti-parasite drug like Ivermectin , which I looked at earlier.  The subject of this ...

School for Monty, aged 11 with ASD, did start a couple of weeks ago but then a nasty virus swept through school, sending him back home again. To recap, Monty attends a very small mainstream international school with his own assistant. The school uses the English system. To get the equivalent US grade, you subtract one from the English year.  He comes home after lunch and then has one-to-one, ABA-inspired, home schooling for another three hours.    In school holidays he has eight hours a day of ABA-inspired one-to-one home program.  This has been going on for seven years so far. Following all these years of ABA, schooling at home and 20 months of his PolyPill he is now able to learn at school, follow the rules and interact with staff and other children.  He now initiates play with the other kids. When his assistant leaves at 2pm, the teachers now want him to stay by himself for afternoon classes like art and physical education.  This is quite a ch...

This post will get complicated, since it will look at many aspects of the GABA A receptor, rather than just a small fraction that usually appear in the individual pieces of the scientific literature.   It was prompted by comments I have received from regular readers, regarding Bumetanide, Clonazepam, epilepsy and whether there might be alternatives with the same effect.   So it is really intended to answer some complex issues.   There are some new interesting facts/observations that may be of wider interest, just skip the parts that too involved. Regarding today’s picture, most readers of this blog are female and by the way, while the US is the most common location by far,  a surprisingly high number of page views come from France, Hong Kong, South Africa and Poland. GABA We have seen that GABA is one of the brain's most important neurotransmitters and we know that various forms of GABA dysfunction are associated with autism, epilepsy and indeed schizophrenia. One re...