PLT Test Blog

I wrote several posts about why PAK1 inhibitors should be beneficial in some autism and indeed some schizophrenia. We also saw that PAK1-blocking drugs could be potentially useful for the treatment of neurofibromatosis type 2, in addition to RAS-induced cancers and neurofibromatosis type 1. One problem with drugs developed for cancer is that, even if they finally get approved, they tend to be ultra-expensive.  Production volumes are low because even if they “work” they do not prolong life for so long and cancer has numerous sub-types. Cheap drugs are ones used to treat common chronic conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and indeed treatment of male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), like benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). A small number of readers of this blog have confirmed the beneficial effect of PAK inhibitors in their specific sub-types of autism.  The problem is that there are no potent PAK1 inhibitors suitable for long term use that are readily avail...

Today’s post is about another example of how evolution can play jokes on us.  It really is the case that a signaling pathway that controls hair growth is the same that determines the number and shape of dendritic spines in the brain. This is good news not just for Homer Simpson but for people interesting in perking up behavior and cognitive function in autism. The post also connects several subjects that we have previously encountered - dendritic spines which are abnormal in autism, Wnt signaling which is implicated in cancer (and autism), statins, Ivermectin, CAPE found in some propolis and verapamil.  There is plenty of research to back all these connections, but strangely nobody seems to be applying them to develop any practical therapies. I introduced dendritic spines in an earlier post.  Each neuron in your brain has hundreds of protruding spines. Dendritic Spines in Autism – Why, and potentially how, to modify them In that post I reported that PAK1, the gene NrCAM a...