With a $35,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation in 2016, Dr. Peter Vanderklish at Scripps Research Institute, and colleagues, explored the basis of anxiety in Fragile X syndrome.

With a $35,000 grant from FRAXA Research Foundation in 2016, Dr. Peter Vanderklish at Scripps Research Institute, and colleagues, explored the basis of anxiety in Fragile X syndrome.
With a $100,000 grant from the FRAXA Research Foundation in 2015, Dr. Peter Vanderklish explored a novel strategy to treat Fragile X syndrome: AMPK activators. The good news is that there are FDA approved (for example, metformin) and naturally occurring AMPK activators (such as resveratrol, found in red wine).
Mis-regulation of activity-dependent protein synthesis is one of the major cellular abnormalities found in Fragile X. Upstream neuronal signaling regulates a large cluster of enzymes called the mTORC1 complex, which in turn regulates protein synthesis. This complex is also controlled by cellular energy levels via the metabolic sensor AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK). AMPK is a highly conserved kinase that is activated under conditions of energy stress, when intracellular ATP levels decline and intracellular AMP increases.