Astrocytes are star-shaped cells that make up one fifth of all cells in the human brain. Recently researchers found a specific pathway in astrocytes that is overactive in Fragile X syndrome, and they hope to bring this pathway back to normal with a drug. With this grant, the team will try to correct the pathway in Fragile X mice. The hope is that they will find a new potential treatment approach for Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreCurrent Research Grants
Identifying Cellular and Molecular Signatures in Human Neurons That Distinguish Fragile X Syndrome Patients with Divergent EEG Profiles
Why is it so hard to find the right medications to help people with Fragile X syndrome? Just as Fragile X affects individuals differently, medications do as well. This project aims to bring personalized medicine to Fragile X syndrome.
Read morePreclinical Testing of High Fat/Low Carb Diets in Fragile X Mice and Cells
With a $90,000 research grant from FRAXA, Dr. Cara Westmark’s team will use mice to determine if more palatable Atkins-type diets can improve sleep and boost learning skills for those with Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreFRAXA Drug Validation Initiative (FRAXA-DVI)
The FRAXA Drug Validation Initiative (FRAXA-DVI) provides speedy, cost-effective, objective preclinical testing of potential Fragile X treatments. FRAXA-DVI uses in-vitro systems, behavior batteries, and gene expression and peripheral biomarker platforms to validate investigational new drugs and repurposed available compounds in Fragile X syndrome (FXS).
Read morePharmacotherapeutic Effects of Cannabidiol (CBD) in Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD)
This study will test CBD (cannabidiol) treatment in male and female Fragile X mice to learn how and why it works and whether gender affects responses to CDB treatment. Along with clinical trials, this study will help us to understand and optimize the potential of CBD as a behavior-regulating treatment for Fragile X.
Read moreScreening Combinatorial Pharmacological Therapies for Fragile X Syndrome
FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded a $90,000 research grant to Stanford University principal investigators Dr. Philippe Jacques Mourrain and Dr. Gordon Wang, along with postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Rochelle Coulson. They are evaluating additive effects of combinatorial drug treatments to correct a broad spectrum of deficits observed in Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreCholesterol-Dependent Changes in Fragile X Astrocytes
FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded $45,000 to Dr. Maija Castrén, of the University of Helsinki, Finland. Dr. Castren is working with Dr. Iryna Ethell, at the University of California at Riverside, to uncover mechanisms behind beneficial effects of lovastatin and cholesterol-dependent changes seen in the Fragile X brain.
Read morefNIRS to Measure Treatment Response in Young Children with Fragile X
FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded a $90,000 research grant to Dr. Craig Erickson and Dr. Elizabeth Smith at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to test functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), in children who have Fragile X syndrome. fNIRS is safe, non-invasive, and easily-tolerated. It uses light sources and sensors on the scalp to build a heat map of the brain in action.
Read moreTargeting Adiponectin to Treat Fragile X Syndrome
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.
Read moreDeep Molecular Profiling of Fragile X Mouse and Human Cells
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.
Read moreTargeting Mitochondria in Human Fragile X Syndrome Neurons
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.
Read moreCorrecting Sensory Processing in Fragile X Mice by Modulating Kv3.1
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.
Read moreGene Therapy Translational Studies for Fragile X Syndrome
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.
Read moreDevelopmental Profile of Glutamatergic Synapses in Fragile X
FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded a $90,000 research fellowship to Dr. Tue Banke. With this award, Dr. Banke is investigating how glutamate receptors at neuronal synapses – essential building blocks of learning and memory – are impacted in Fragile X syndrome. Dr. Banke recently left Aarhus University in Denmark to continue his research first as a visiting scholar and now as an assistant professor at the University of Washington.
Read moreReintroducing FMRP via Tat to Reduce Symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome
FRAXA Research Foundation and the Fragile X Research Foundation of Canada have awarded a grant of $100,000 over two years to Dr. Raymond Turner at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Dr. Turner and postdoctoral fellow Xiaoqin Zhan, PhD are attempting to reactivate a segment of FMRP to reverse symptoms of Fragile X in a mouse model of the disease to reduce abnormal behaviors.
Read moreScreening 2,320 FDA-Approved Drugs for Potential Treatment of Fragile X
FRAXA Research Foundation has awarded a $90,000 grant to Principal Investigator Dr. Sean McBride and Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Karen Joyce, at Rowan University, to screen all 2,320 FDA-approved drugs on both mouse and fly models of Fragile X syndrome. Those drugs which show promise will be tested in more detail for potential to treat Fragile X in humans.
Read moreResearch Points to Drugs which Inhibit PDE to Treat Fragile X
FRAXA Research Foundation funded a grant of $90,000 over 2016-2018, for a postdoctoral fellowship for Thomas Maurin, PhD, working under the mentorship of Dr. Barbara Bardoni at INSERM in France. The team works on the biochemistry of the Fragile X protein. They have found that PDE inhibitors (a class of drugs) show promise as treatments for Fragile X syndrome. In related research, FRAXA is currently funding a clinical trial of PDE4D inhibitors.
Read moreActivity-Dependent Translational Profiling in Fragile X Neurons
FRAXA’s first-ever grant to researchers at the University of California at Berkeley goes to Dr. Nicholas Ingolia and Dr. J. Wren Kim to analyze the proteomics of Fragile X neurons using a newly developed tool which can distinguish the profiles of neurons that are actively responding to signals.
Read moreUnderstanding and Reversing Hypersensitivity to Sounds in Fragile X Syndrome
With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation over 2018-2019, Drs. Devin Binder, Iryna Ethell, and Patricia Pirbhoy at the University of California at Riverside aim to understand – and reverse – hypersensitivity to sound in Fragile X syndrome.
Read moreThree-Dimensional Model for Identifying Fragile X Treatments
With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation awarded in 2018, Dr. Peng Jin and Dr. Juhnee Kang at Emory University will develop and analyze Fragile X brain organoids to understand the disorder and identify treatment targets.
Read morePharmacological Tolerance in the Treatment of Fragile X Syndrome
With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation over 2018-2019, Dr. Patrick McCamphill, postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Mark Bear’s lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is investigating drug tolerance to mGluR5 antagonists, arbaclofen, and other potential Fragile X treatments. He is also exploring ways to overcome it.
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