PLT Test Blog

Need a wizard, or your local doctor? I was intrigued to come across a recent paper on immune modulatory treatments for autism by a couple of doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital for Children.   The lead author has interests in: ·       Autism spectrum disorders ·       Psychopharmacology ·       Developmental Disabilities ·       Williams syndrome ·       Angelman syndrome ·       Down syndrome Apparently, he is an internationally-recognized expert in the neurobiology and neuropsychopharmacology of childhood-onset neuropsychiatric disorders including autistic disorder.  Sounds promising, hopefully we will learn something new. The paper is actually a review of existing drugs, with immunomodulatory properties, that have already been suggested to be repurposed for autism. The abstract was not very insightful, so I have highl...

Acid sensing ion channels (ASICs) are another emerging area of science where much remains known.   It would seem that ASICs have evolved for a good reason, when pH levels fall they trigger a reaction to compensate.   (The lower the pH the higher is the acidity)   In some cases, like seizures, this seems to work, but in other cases the reaction produced actually makes a bad situation worse. Research is ongoing to find inhibitors of ASICs to treat specific conditions raging from MS (Multiple Sclerosis), Parkinson’s and Huntington’s to depression and anxiety. Perhaps autism should be added to the list. NSAIDs like ibuprofen are inhibitors of ASICs. The complicated-looking chart below explains the mechanism.   The ASIC is on the left, also present is a voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) and an NMDA receptor. We already know that VGCCs can play a key role in autism and mast cell degranulation. Similarly we know that in autism there is very often either too much or too l...