Finding a Cure for Fragile X
On November 16, 2019, our amazing Ohio families held an unforgettable Genes & Gems event to support FRAXA Research Foundation. This year, at the Renaissance Columbus Hotel, families and friends gathered to support Fragile X research. The evening included presentation Dr. Craig Erickson from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
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A Fragile X clinical trial of a new PDE4D allosteric inhibitor from Tetra Therapeutics is nearly complete. Right now there are 3 remaining spots open to males 18-45 years of age with Fragile X syndrome. Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is leading this trial. The drug being studied has a unique mechanism of action that might improve cognitive and memory function.
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Meet #FriendofFRAXA Jack! If you would like to nominate someone as a #FriendofFRAXA, we welcome all who have been touched by Fragile X, including friends, grandparents, siblings, professionals and companions alike to become a #FriendofFRAXA with the goal of putting a face to Fragile X for those who may not know someone directly.
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We have long suspected that the clinical trials of mGluR5 blockers from Novartis and Roche failed because the drug triggered tolerance, losing effect over time. With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA, Dr. Patrick McCamphill, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the MIT lab of Dr. Mark Bear, is investigating. He does indeed find tolerance, and now he is looking for ways to overcome it.
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When our oldest son, Taylor, was diagnosed at age 2 with Fragile X, the most common inherited cause of mental impairment and autism, brain research suddenly became deeply personal to our family. Please consider making a gift to help accelerate research to find effective treatments and ultimately a cure for Fragile X.
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Lucas lives for his routines. Unfortunately, life gives us unexpected twists and turns and things very often don’t go our way. This is extremely hard for people like Lucas who have Fragile X. Please help us make life easier for Lucas and people like him across the planet living with this rare disease.
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Meet #FriendofFRAXA Anthony! If you would like to nominate someone as a #FriendofFRAXA, we welcome all who have been touched by Fragile X, including friends, grandparents, siblings, professionals and companions alike to become a #FriendofFRAXA with the goal of putting a face to Fragile X for those who may not know someone directly.
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Meet #FriendofFRAXA Jagger! If you would like to nominate someone as a #FriendofFRAXA, we welcome all who have been touched by Fragile X, including friends, grandparents, siblings, professionals and companions alike to become a #FriendofFRAXA with the goal of putting a face to Fragile X for those who may not know someone directly.
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FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded a $30,000 research grant to principal investigator Brian Christie, PhD, and postdoctoral fellows Jonathan Thacker, PhD, and Luis Bettio, PhD, at the University of Victoria. They are investigating whether boosting the hormone adiponectin can effectively treat Fragile X syndrome. This project is funded in partnership with the Fragile X Research Foundation of Canada, which is providing an additional $15,000.
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FRAXA Research Foundation is funding a clinical trial of metformin for teens and adults with Fragile X syndrome. The trial is being conducted by Dr. Sean McBride at Rowan University in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania. Men and women ages 16-50 with Fragile X syndrome are invited to participate.
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Meet #FriendofFRAXA Matty & Jackson! If you would like to nominate someone as a #FriendofFRAXA, we welcome all who have been touched by Fragile X, including friends, grandparents, siblings, professionals and companions alike to become a #FriendofFRAXA with the goal of putting a face to Fragile X for those who may not know someone directly.
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Healx has secured $56M in new financing to build a clinical-stage portfolio for rare diseases, including treatments for Fragile X syndrome, and to launch a global Rare Treatment Accelerator program. Where the traditional drug discovery model takes more than a decade and can run into the billions of dollars, Healx’s AI-driven approach makes the process faster, more efficient and cost-effective.
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Meet #FriendofFRAXA Alfie! If you would like to nominate someone as a #FriendofFRAXA, we welcome all who have been touched by Fragile X, including friends, grandparents, siblings, professionals and companions alike to become a #FriendofFRAXA with the goal of putting a face to Fragile X for those who may not know someone directly.
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Ellen Skala, known as Elle, has joined FRAXA Research Foundation as Program Coordinator. Elle is excited to work on the FRAXA team and we are excited to have her on board! She has experience in grant writing and personal fundraising campaigns. In her new role as program coordinator, Elle will communicate with FRAXA supporters throughout the country, connecting them to the mission and assisting them in fundraising and awareness-raising activities.
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FRAXA Research Foundation has funded a clinical trial of an investigational new drug, led by Dr. Elizabeth Berry-Kravis at the Rush Fragile X Clinic in Chicago. This trial will treat 30 adult males with Fragile X syndrome with a PDE4D allosteric inhibitor from Tetra Discovery Partners using in a crossover design, so that everyone gets active drug for part of the time and placebo for part of the time.
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FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded $90,000 to Dr. Joel Richter, Principal Investigator, and Dr. Sneha Shah, Postdoctoral Fellow, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. They are using human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to analyze gene expression in Fragile X syndrome.
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FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded a $90,000 research grant to principal investigator Dr. Xinyu Zhao and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Minjie Shen at the University of Wisconsin. They are investigating whether drugs which boost mitochondria — which provide the energy for cells — could treat Fragile X syndrome. Dr. Zhao explains in this video. With this award, FRAXA has funded almost $1 Million in Fragile X research at the University of Wisconsin!
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On July 22, 2019, the Fragile X July Jam in Derry, NH, raised over $6000 for FRAXA Research Foundation, to fund research to find effective treatments and ultimately a cure for Fragile X syndrome. Governor Chris Sununu’s policy director D.J. Bettencourt read an official proclamation calling for awareness of, and research on, Fragile X.
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This campaign is in memory of Marilyn Ferguson
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Newburyport, MA (July 15, 2019) — Today, FRAXA Research Foundation announces that 20 buildings, bridges and landmarks across the United States and Canada will be illuminated teal on Monday, July 22, to celebrate International Fragile X Awareness Day. The goal of the initiative is to raise awareness of Fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited cause of autism and learning disabilities worldwide.
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FRAXA Research Foundation and The Pierce Family Fragile X Foundation have awarded a 2019 grant of $90,000 to Dr. Jeannie Lee’s lab at Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital. They have discovered a method that will reactivate the FMR1 gene by treating cells with a cocktail of small molecules, under a specific regimen in vitro (patent filing pending).
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CONNECT-FX (Clinical Study of Cannabidiol (CBD) in Children and Adolescents with Fragile X) is a newly initiated multi-national, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 14-week trial, sponsored by Zynerba Pharmaceuticals. It is now enrolling patients ages 3 through 17 years with full mutation Fragile X syndrome, to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an investigational CBD gel (ZYN002).
Read moreThis campaign is in memory of Alice Woodard
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FRAXA has awarded a $90,000 grant to Carlos Portera-Cailliau, PhD and Nazim Kourdougli, PhD at UCLA to investigate whether a novel drug can rescue sensory processing deficits in Fragile X mice. People with Fragile X have similar problems in sensory processing. This new drug acts on Kv3.1, a promising Fragile X treatment target also being pursued by UK-based Autifony Therapeutics based on FRAXA-funded research done at Yale.
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With this $90,000 award from FRAXA Research Foundation, Drs. Ernest Pedapati, Christina Gross, and student Lindsay Beasley will pursue preclinical gene therapy approaches using AAV (adeno-associated virus) vectors for treating Fragile X syndrome at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Dr. Craig Erickson elaborates about this in this video.
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