Intellectual disabilities, fragile X: Promising treatments being tested for intellectual disabilities - Minocycline fragile X etc

May 1, 2011

Hope builds for treating intellectual disabilities

A common medication is one of several drugs that might correct or even

reverse the effects of fragile X, autism and other developmental disorders.

By Healy, Los Angeles Times

6:17 PM PDT, April 30, 2011

Slouched sideways at his desk in the front row of class, a sneakered

foot jittering distractedly, Chase Brown could be any 14-year-old in

academic captivity.

As the discussion turns to the American history of slavery, the teacher

draws Chase back from his apparent reverie. A classmate has said that

Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Does Chase agree or disagree?

Chase locks eyes with his teacher. " I agree, " he says emphatically.

It is a moment of triumph for Chase, one of an estimated 90,000 in the

U.S. who live with an inherited form of intellectual disability known as

fragile X syndrome. Only a year ago, he would have fled the classroom,

thrown something at the teacher or stayed mute. Last year, he tested

below first-grade level in all academic domains.

Impulsive, distracted and quick to boil over, he seemed incapable of

learning.

This year, he can sit in a classroom for half an hour before needing a

" sensory break " : a walk around the parking lot to clear his

overstimulated brain. He is reading at a fourth-grade level, following

class discussions, looking teachers squarely in the eyes and answering

questions.

On a surprising drug --- a workhorse antibiotic used since the 1960s to

treat acne, skin infections, strep throat and chlamydia --- Chase is

learning.

Minocycline, the medication Chase has been taking for almost eight

months, is one of several drugs that might correct...

..

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