Month: February 2008

Want a chance to win a free iPod?

Melissa

One of my favorite bloggers is having a contest. All you have to do is comment on this post and you’re entered to win the iPod. You can comment up to five times for a total of 5 entries or you can link to her for 5 entries.  You have to enter by 2/18.

She’s an Olsen twin look-a-like, sexual abuse survivor, former Marine, Broadway Musical fannatic who has adopted one child from foster care and is currently parenting 3 additional foster kids ranging in age from 2 – 17. Seriously…how much more hardcore could you get? I’m sure I’ve left off other key descriptors. Oh, and, she has a great sense of humor.

Thursday 2/14 – Larry King Show

Duhdee

Autism Breakthroughs

The heartbreak …and hope of autism. Jason “J-Mac” McElwain inspired the world with his incredible shot-making at a high school basketball game. Larry talks to the teen and others about the disorder. Holly Robinson Peete, Doug Flutie and Toni Braxton join the discussion to bust myths and present breakthroughs. It’s an uplifting hour with those who know!

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/

A small taste of FX?

Melissa

We went shopping today. Our first stop was the craft store for supplies for Valentine’s Day cards that Monkey needs to bring to school this week. Duhdee put Monkey in one of the tiny carts and they roamed the store looking for the items on my list while I more methodically searched up and down the aisles.

I was able to find most of the stuff pretty quickly but I hadn’t yet decided whether to use cardstock or foam as the base of the card. I had been hoping to find pre-cut foam hearts but I couldn’t find anything in the right size so we were now wandering aimlessly.

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Chemical Signals Go Awry in FX Syndrome

Melissa

Chemical Signals Go Awry in Fragile X Syndrome
Mouse study shows drugs that target the miscommunication may help

MONDAY, Jan. 14 (HealthDay News) — New information about how brain cells are affected in Fragile X syndrome — the most common cause of inherited mental retardation — has been uncovered.

In the study, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas examined mice to see how Fragile X syndrome affects communication between cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in learning and memory. The team found that two different chemical signals go awry in Fragile X syndrome. This suggests that drugs that interact with these chemical signals may offer a treatment.

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Fragile X research news

Melissa

Seaside Therapeutics Awards $4.5 Million Collaborative Research Contract to Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Funding supports development of novel therapeutics for fragile X syndrome

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Seaside Therapeutics announced today the award of a $4.5 million collaborative research contract to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to discover novel compounds to potentially suppress the manifestations of fragile X syndrome. Fragile X syndrome is the most common inherited disorder of brain development and the most common known genetic cause of autism. Individuals with fragile X can suffer from impaired cognitive function, developmental delay, attention deficit and hyperactivity, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and autistic behaviors.

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