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Mice Cured of Autism

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the of-mice-and-men dept.

noahisaac writes "My brother just sent me an article he posted for the Rett Syndrome Research Foundation about a cure for Rett Syndrome, a form of autism. According to the article, researchers successfully re-introduced a fully functional version of the MECP2 gene into mice that had been born with damaged MECP2 genes. Contrary to their expectations, the mice improved. In the article's words, 'restoration of fully functional MECP2 over a four week period eradicated tremors and normalized breathing, mobility and gait in mice that had previously been fully symptomatic and, in some cases, only days away from death.' The ramifications for people suffering from Rett Syndrome are obvious, but mutations of the MECP2 gene are also believed to be the cause of 'classic' autism, and a number of other neurological disorders."

30 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. it's not a game... by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The ramifications for people suffering from Rett Syndrome are obvious, but mutations of the MECP2 gene are also believed to be the cause of 'classic' autism, and a number of other neurological disorders."

    So they're saying this will cure people of World of Warcraft?

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
  2. Algernon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    please if you get a chanse put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard

    1. Re:Algernon by sinclair44 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm not quite sure what this comment should be modded, but 'funny' doesn't seem to be it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_For_Algernon

      --
      Omnes stulti sunt.
  3. Slashdot is doomed by Harmonious+Botch · · Score: 4, Funny

    If there is a cure for autism - and it's close cousin, aspergers - then most of us on slashdot will get a life.

    1. Re:Slashdot is doomed by QuickFox · · Score: 4, Funny

      Most people on Slashdot do not have Apserger's. Where's your proof? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
      --
      Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
    2. Re:Slashdot is doomed by jacobw · · Score: 3, Funny

      Most people on Slashdot do not have Apserger's.
      Where's your proof? Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
      If he were trying to prove that most people do not have Asperger's Syndrome, he might require extraordinary evidence. But trying to prove that we don't have Apserger's Syndrome is much easier. Admittedly, I've never heard of Apserger's before, but I have to assume it involves being a semicircular or polygonal termination or recess in a building, usually vaulted and used especially at the end of a choir in a church. I'm pretty sure if I were the vaulted polygonal termination of a church, I wouldn't be able to type well enough to use Slashdot.
      --
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  4. How much will the treatment cost? by andy314159pi · · Score: 5, Funny

    How much will the treatment cost Rainman?
    "About a hundred dollars."

  5. In other news by rowlingj · · Score: 5, Funny

    In other news, a nerdy engineer turns into a superb personnel manager after the genes are corrected. The only problem is the manager now has no way of understanding the code and schematics previously thought to be "fully documented".

  6. Runtime gene patching! by jhantin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So they spliced a stop codon into the middle of the relevant gene to disable it, then delivered an enzyme all the way to cell nuclei (!) to delete what they spliced in. The next step then it seems is then to find or engineer a proper enzyme to patch a naturally occurring gene defect -- they've basically proven that runtime patching of the genome works. Nice.

    --
    ...when you're writing a game...tweak the difficulty of "Easy" to something [your mother] can cope with. -- onion2k
    1. Re:Runtime gene patching! by DrKyle · · Score: 3, Interesting

      All they have proven is that turning the gene back on can alleviate the disease. This is no closer to a cure than any other single gene disease that could be fixed by putting a good copy in. Not only that but most autism has nothing to do with this mutation, most autistics are male and only females get Rett syndrome. The title and summary are the biggest load of non-biologists trying to write about biology I've read in months.

  7. Misleading title by Wuhao · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The rats never had autism -- they had Rett syndrome, which was cured. Why does the poster seem to feel that the results here can be generalized to a similar disorder, when it's not even well understood why it even worked for the first?

  8. Watch your words by Raindance · · Score: 5, Informative

    MECP2 as "the cause" of autism is overblown-- scientists have isolated several genetic areas that are somewhat probable contributors toward developing autism, but
    1. Autism is definitely caused by the contributions of many genes;
    2. There are various ways autism presents itself- presumably due to varying genetic contributions. Rett Syndrome is (in my understanding) an atypically (genetically) simple form of autism.

  9. The implications are obvious by Y-Crate · · Score: 5, Funny

    Self-diagnosed Aspergers sufferers will suddenly find themselves without any excuse for their behavior.

  10. Mice cured... by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Funny

    Obligatory Douglas Adams:

          And far away in some distant dimension, some pan-dimensional hyperintelligent beings have suddenly become extremely anti-social, developed a limp, and are currently wondering if this search for the ultimate question is worth all the bother...

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  11. Jim Sinclair by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    From: http://www.autistics.org/library/dontmourn.html

    Autism isn't something a person has, or a "shell" that a person is trapped inside. There's no normal child hidden behind the autism. Autism is a way of being. It is pervasive; it colors every experience, every sensation, perception, thought, emotion, and encounter, every aspect of existence. It is not possible to separate the autism from the person--and if it were possible, the person you'd have left would not be the same person you started with.

    This is important, so take a moment to consider it: Autism is a way of being. It is not possible to separate the person from the autism.

    Therefore, when parents say,

            "I wish my child did not have autism,"

    what they're really saying is,

            "I wish the autistic child I have did not exist, and I had a different (non-autistic) child instead."

    Read that again. This is what we hear when you mourn over our existence. This is what we hear when you pray for a cure. This is what we know, when you tell us of your fondest hopes and dreams for us: that your greatest wish is that one day we will cease to be, and strangers you can love will move in behind our faces.

    1. Re:Jim Sinclair by f1055man · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Before I edited my post I had mentioned that a "cure for autism" is ethically murky. My point is simply that the response to this news should not be unfettered enthusiasm. There are similar ethical debates within the deaf community. Frankly, I think that the problem is not that scientists provide the option of altering oneself, but that these advances in medicine and technology are often couched in paternalism. It's "we can fix you; make you normal" rather than "here's an option". Some day normal will mean having biotech augmentations of some sort. An exciting option, but if someone tells me that they can fix my product of evolution body I might be a little pissed. Try telling a flat chested woman that those can be "fixed" and see what happens. Many autistics have a similar view.

    2. Re:Jim Sinclair by NeuralSpike · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Finally, someone with a reasonable perspective! Thank you for your post. For all of you who don't know, autism--as far as we can tell-- involves the inability of the prefrontal cortex to integrate perception properly. This leads to difficulty in language to the point that most if not all autistic people do not think in linguistic fashion, but rather think visually. Furthermore, the obsession with specific details arises from this; it is as if an autistic individual sees all of what is in his or her visual field, unlike the rest of us who tend to filter out unimportant details. While we think autistic individuals are "in their own little worlds," in reality, their inability filter stimuli results in them being far more aware of the real world than any "normal" person could be. It's no wonder they have trouble developmentally. I have a migraine disorder that manifests in some very bizarre fashions (migraine != VERY BAD HEADACHE; in fact, I almost never have headaches with migraines) including extremely heightened visual and auditory perception. However, whenever I have this heightened perception it is as if I can only perceive the very small details, textures, and contrasts. Let me tell you, IT IS SCARY. Little things become extraordinarily agitating. I honestly don't know how autistic people deal with it. If I had to live my entire life like that, I'd be sitting in a rubber room wearing a soiled diaper with drool dripping down my face as I stared at one spot without moving my gaze until "snow blindness" kicked in rendering my vision useless. Simply changing the neurological structure of someone who has lived with autism will not undue the mechanisms they have learned to compensate with, nor will it automatically restore normal language functioning. You might be able to teach someone these new skills, but you will not have cured them. You will merely have changed them. As to whether that change is for the better or worse I have no answer--the only person who could answer that is the changed individual. Finally, saying a cure for Rett's is a cure for Autism would be like saying a cure for Rett's is a cure for Cerebral Palsy, since Rett's is about as similar to Cerebral Palsy in terms of movement disorders as it is similar to Autism in terms of developmental disorders.

      On one last note, do not attack this poster for the clarity of this post as he is moderately inebriated.

    3. Re:Jim Sinclair by Belfry_Bats · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That's the most absurd and soppy thing I've read all day.

      It may be true for high functioning autistic children, but it's cruel to put guilt trips on parents who have autistic kids who can't speak or be potty-trained for wishing their beloved children were not stricken with such a horrible disorder. It's a 'way of being' as much as Down Syndrome is.

      (and I speak as someone with (diagnosed) Asperger's and two severely autistic siblings.)

    4. Re:Jim Sinclair by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think to state such a thing as Therefore, when parents say, "I wish my child did not have autism," what they're really saying is, "I wish the autistic child I have did not exist, and I had a different (non-autistic) child instead." shows a very limited understanding of self. Besides that, I think in most cases, when parents say "I wish my child did not have autism," what they really mean is, "Gosh, my child sure does look unhappy, I'm betting from the fact that they struggle just to feed themselves, that they would be FAR happier if they didn't have it." So why does wishing for ones child to not be stricken with an arguably awful disease have to be immediately considered a selfish act? Maybe some parents with autistic children hope for a better life for their kids out of compassion. Just offering alternative view points here.

    5. Re:Jim Sinclair by bri2000 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I understand your point. However as someone who's life has been ruined by Asperger's Syndrome I have to say there are other perspectives.

      I was seriously bullied and discriminated against at school (by teachers and pupils) and all through university and subsequent life, I have literally no friends or anyone to talk to outside of immediate family members, no chance of ever being in a loving relationship as the only women prepared to have anything to do with me turn out to be menatally ill - seriously, of the two women who've slept with me one turned out to be a schizophrenic and the other had Munchausen syndrome - and a career which has stalled due not to a lack of ability but rather to my inability to connect with people and the fact everyone at work finds me just so damn weird. As a result of these and other problems connected with my AS I now, at the age of 35, suffer from chronic intractable depression. I was, in fact, formally diagnosed with AS after being referred to a consultant psychiatrist for depression last year.

      I fully acknowledge that if I did not have AS I would not be the same individual that I am. That does not bother me. So far as I'm concerned AS has caused me to have a life that is not really worth living and I would have been quite happy (in so far as that concept has meaning when discussing an emotional reaction to non-existence) for someone else, with a slightly different set of genes to me who would have been better at life and enjoyed it a little more, to have taken my place (my therapist hates this line of argument btw - we have huge rows about whether people who say they are happy with AS really believe what they say or are just fooling themselves in a desperate attempt to bolster their self esteem and playing the "noble, stoic cripple" role that society prefers its handicapped members to adopt). If there was a cure I would jump at it.

      I also have to say that, although it's a moot point (see above), if I did ever find a woman willing to breed with me, having had the life I've had and having gone through what I've gone through I would seek genetic counselling and take whatever steps were available to prevent any child of mine from being born with AS (or any other form of autism). I know that the question of whether a bad existence is better than non-existence is extremely difficult from a theoretical perspective but, so far as I'm concerned, if you bring child into the world who you know will have a hellish existence and you could have prevented it, you've done wrong.

  12. wait a minute!!! by neo8750 · · Score: 4, Informative
    "Rett Syndrome was first recognized by Andreas Rett in 1966 and is a neurological disorder affecting primarily females. Autopsies on the brains of these individuals indicate a pathology different than autism; however, children afflicted with Rett Syndrome often exhibit autistic-like behaviors, such as repetitive hand movements, prolonged toe walking, body rocking, and sleep problems."

    Here is the source of this info.

  13. damn mice! by tomstdenis · · Score: 4, Funny

    They keep curing the mice!!! what about us humans? ... :-) [yes this is a joke].

    --
    Someday, I'll have a real sig.
  14. They're working on that by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 5, Funny

    Actually, a cure for WOW is in development. You can check it out how the cure is coming along here

    1. Re:They're working on that by Korin43 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Screw that, I want World of Starcraft.

    2. Re:They're working on that by awol · · Score: 3, Funny

      Screw that I want to see a World of WordStar

      --
      "The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging."
  15. But adults may still be out of luck by Michael+Woodhams · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They've reversed (something like) Rett Syndrome in mice, showing that the nerve malfunctioning is reversable. In humans, however, missing vital developmental milestones is not reversable. E.g. normally we acquire grammar by age three, but if for some reason we don't acquire it before the age of about 10, we never will (or only very poorly.) So even if this treatment transfers to humans, it is unlikely to be a complete miracle cure for adult Rett Syndrome (or autistic) people.

    Here's another article about it.

    --
    Quattuor res in hoc mundo sanctae sunt: libri, liberi, libertas et liberalitas.
  16. Re:Girls only by samkass · · Score: 3, Informative

    is this the cause of the difference between heavy metal poisoning causing autism and genetics causing autism

    It's not been shown that heavy metal poisoning causes autism. Poisoning with lead or mercury can have neurological symptoms that are similar to autism, but removing the heavy metal and flushing it from the body causes rapid improvement in the poisoning patients, while autism has no cure. The mistaken belief that they're the same thing led a lot of parents to stop immunizing, despite every single reproducible study showing no link between the mercury-based compound that used to be found in such immunizations and autism. To wit, autism continues to gradually become more common despite the fact that mercury has now been completely removed from childhood vaccines.

    The only statistically significant environmental link found so far to the onset of true autism cases that I've seen was a study that showed that the rollout of cable television appeared to be correlated to a moderate rise in autism in the neighborhoods and time periods of the rollout during the 80's.

    --
    E pluribus unum
  17. Yawn... by StikyPad · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wake me up when they've cured altruism.

    Oh wait...

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  18. I just wanted to say. by Short+Circuit · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I just wanted to say three things:

    • I am autistic.
    • I have personality quirks I normally keep under control.
    • I do not want my personality "fixed."
    --
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  19. Most people do not know what Rett's is... by jedi_chemist · · Score: 3, Interesting

    While Rett's syndrome falls into the rubric of pervasive developmental disorders, it is not technically considered a form of autism, but in fact often mistaken for autism at time of diagnosis. This is because the victims develop normally for the first 12-24 months of life then have rapid loss of social and cognitive skills. Another point is that the overwhelming majority of the patients are female because it is felt the genetic defect is lethal in utero in males and those males that are born generally die in the first year of life. Additionally, unlike autism and Aspergers, Rett's has a definitive genetic link (note they say the the genetic defect _MAY_ be linked to classic autism). Therefore, it is not surprising that someone eventually found a treatment. The etiology of autism is less clear, more likely due to a combinatorial effect of genetics and environment, and is much less likely to be "cured." People in this forum need to get the facts straight before talking about WoW players, /.ers, etc because Rett's is a serious disease.