Publications by authors named "Grace Westerkamp"

This study aimed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of STP1, a combination of ibudilast and bumetanide, tailored for the treatment of a clinically and biologically defined subgroup of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), namely ASD Phenotype 1 (ASD-Phen1). We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group phase 1b study with two 14-day treatment phases (registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04644003).

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Objective: Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the leading monogenic cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. Currently, there are no established biomarkers for predicting and monitoring drug effects in FXS, and no approved therapies are available. Previous studies have shown electrophysiological changes in the brain using electroencephalography (EEG) in individuals with FXS and animal models.

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Purpose: Major depressive disorder (MDD) disproportionately affects those living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is associated with significant impairment and treatment recidivism.

Methods: We studied the use of accelerated theta burst stimulation (ATBS) for the treatment of refractory MDD in ASD (3 treatments daily x 10 days). This prospective open-label 12-week trial included 10 subjects with a mean age of 21.

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Interneuron loss is a prominent feature of temporal lobe epilepsy in both animals and humans and is hypothesized to be critical for epileptogenesis. As loss occurs concurrently with numerous other potentially proepileptogenic changes, however, the impact of interneuron loss in isolation remains unclear. For the present study, we developed an intersectional genetic approach to induce bilateral diphtheria toxin-mediated deletion of Vgat-expressing interneurons from dorsal and ventral hippocampus.

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Article Synopsis
  • Acquired epilepsies begin after a brain injury, leading to the gradual development of seizures, but the processes behind this progression (epileptogenesis) are not fully understood; microRNAs like miR-324-5p have been linked to regulating these processes.
  • In a study with mice, researchers tested the effects of inhibiting miR-324-5p during the epileptogenesis phase by using a specific model (IHpKa) and monitoring through EEG for 28 days.
  • The findings showed that inhibiting miR-324-5p did not prevent the onset or severity of seizures but did affect certain EEG activity patterns, suggesting that timing of treatment is crucial and that miR-324-5
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