Mice Cured of Rett Syndrome

Impotence · 09-02-2007, 02:47 AM

"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."

Article: Rett Syndrome Research Foundation :: Press Release
Source: Slashdot.org

Off Topic:

As some of you might know, i work part time as a care worker for children and young adults with autism... i have always been against animal testing, but this has left me somewhat confused over where i stand on the issue.

The idea that the people i work with (care for, assist in everyday life) could one day have a 'normal' (average) life is an amazing feeling... i never even considered the possibility for some of the people i work with (Many of the people i work with are non-verbal and there understanding of the world around them is obviously limited).

Quote:

Originally Posted by From comments

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.

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