Clinton Canal, PhD

Targeting Serotonin Receptors to Treat Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms

With a $90,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation awarded in 2017, Dr. Clinton Canal targets seratonin receptors. “There are 15 unique serotonin receptors (at least) and many of them impact the function of brain circuits that are impaired in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders,” said Dr. Canal. “Results from this project could guide new drug discovery or drug repurposing for Fragile X.”

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Fragile X Awareness Day Origins and a Tribute

July 22 is National Fragile X Awareness Day, but I’ll bet few know the history behind it.

In 2000, before there was such a thing as a Fragile X Advocacy Day, FRAXA Research Foundation and David Busby (husband to Mary Beth, father to two adult sons living with Fragile X, a member of FRAXA’s pioneering leadership team, and a prominent and politically well-connected DC lawyer) were running Fragile X advocacy in Washington, DC.

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Friends of FRAXA, Bob Sweeney, President of the Boston Bruins Foundation

TD Bank invites Friends of FRAXA to Watch the Bruins

Fifty friends of FRAXA enjoyed an amazing night at the TD Garden in Boston on March 30. They gathered to watch the Boston Bruins take on the Dallas Stars. It was a great opportunity for us to unite the greater Boston Fragile X community. We were able to convene and thank some of our local families and introduce them to university and biotech scientists who are working to find a cure for Fragile X. The night was made available by a generous donation of the Garden View Room by TD Bank.

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Callum Cup pic-2 2016

Callum Cup 2017 Raised over $9200 for Fragile X Research

We are tremendously grateful to the Millburn United men’s soccer team, of Millburn, New Jersey, who held the 2017 Callum Cup on Sunday, July 2, 2017. They were honoring Callum Murphy, son of the team goalkeeper at Millburn United. Together with their friends and families, the team raised over $9000 for Fragile X research! This event was made possible by co-hosts Andrew Murphy and Nick Dawes. Donors, thank you all so much!

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Repurposing Available Drugs to Treat Fragile X Syndrome – FRAXA Initiatives

FRAXA Research Foundation was founded in 1994 to fund biomedical research aimed at finding a cure for Fragile X syndrome and, ultimately, autism. We prioritize translational research with the potential to lead to improved treatments for Fragile X in the near term. Our early efforts involved supporting a great deal of basic neuroscience to understand the cause of Fragile X. By 1996, these efforts had already begun to yield results useful for drug repurposing. To date, FRAXA has funded well over $25 million in research, with over $3 million of that for repurposing existing drugs for Fragile X.

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Christina Timmerman - Meffert lab

Trial and No Error: Better Outcomes for Clinical Trials in Fragile X Syndrome

Johns Hopkins researcher Christina Timmerman, PhD, searches for a less subjective method to determine if a drug is working in patients with Fragile X syndrome. Many parents of children with Fragile X syndrome were crushed when promising drug trials were unexpectedly stopped a few years ago because subjective behavior-based outcome measures did not justify continuing the trials. The strong feelings linger today. If all goes well with Christina Timmerman’s research, future drug trials may be able to continue with additional metrics for assessment, until there are advanced treatments or even a cure for Fragile X syndrome.

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NIH Investigator Carolyn Beebe Smith, PhD, Looks to Improve Sleep in Fragile X Syndrome

Our sons with Fragile X Syndrome typically go to bed early and rise early. Sometimes they jump on us while we are sleeping at 3 a.m., excited to start their day. For heaven’s sake, why? The answer may come from Carolyn Beebe Smith, PhD, senior investigator, Section on Neuroadaptation and Protein Metabolism, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. She is studying why children, in particularly boys, with FXS have problems sleeping.

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The New York Times, “Medical Charities Once Advised on Coping With a Disease. Now They Try to Cure It”

Propelled by genome sequencing and social media, thousands of charities have sprung up to finance, coordinate and oversee research for cures. Katie Clapp and her son, Andy, who has Fragile X, a disease that causes intellectual disability, with a therapy horse at Gateway Farm in Merrimac, Mass. Ms. Clapp helped form a group that has spent millions on research for a cure.

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David Nelson, PhD, FRAXA Investigator

Fragile X Mutant Mouse Models

With $375,000 in grants from the FRAXA Research Foundation since 2009, Dr. David Nelson has developed an impressive array of advanced mouse models of Fragile X, at Baylor College of Medicine. These models are available to investigators worldwide on request. This resource has been essential for a broad, rapid distribution of Fragile X and related gene mouse models and has increased the pace of Fragile X research.

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