Publications by authors named "P A Westmark"

Sleep problems are a significant phenotype in children with fragile X syndrome. Our prior work assessed sleep-wake cycles in male mice and wild type (WT) littermate controls in response to ketogenic diet therapy where mice were treated from weaning (postnatal day 18) through study completion (5-6 months of age). A potentially confounding issue with commencing treatment during an active period of growth is the significant reduction in weight gain in response to the ketogenic diet.

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Obesity is a pediatric epidemic that is more prevalent in children with developmental disabilities. We hypothesize that soy protein-based diets increase weight gain and alter neurobehavioral outcomes. Our objective herein was to test matched casein- and soy protein-based purified ingredient diets in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome, mice.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Research indicates that soy-based diets may worsen conditions like seizures and autism in individuals with FXS, creating a need to identify how dietary proteins impact the syndrome.
  • * A spatial proteomics study using mass spectrometry revealed 1250 unique peptides in the FXS mouse model, showing that soy proteins may significantly affect metabolic processes and synaptic transmission in the brain, paving the way for new therapeutic targets.
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Nearly half of children with fragile X syndrome experience sleep problems including trouble falling asleep and frequent nighttime awakenings. The goals here were to assess sleep-wake cycles in mice in response to genotype and a dietary intervention that reduces hyperactivity. Electroencephalography (EEG) results were compared with published rest-activity patterns to determine if actigraphy is a viable surrogate for sleep EEG.

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Mice fed soy-based diets exhibit increased weight gain compared to mice fed casein-based diets, and the effects are more pronounced in a model of fragile X syndrome (FXS; ). FXS is a neurodevelopmental disability characterized by intellectual impairment, seizures, autistic behavior, anxiety, and obesity. Here, we analyzed body weight as a function of mouse age, diet, and genotype to determine the effect of diet (soy, casein, and grain-based) on weight gain.

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