Researchers develop new drug to treat autism

Drugs used to treat seizures could reverse common signs of autism, a new study suggests, reports The Daily Mail.

Researchers from Stanford Medicine studied mouse models of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which affects one in 31 US children and has seen a startling rise since the early 2000s.

The team identified the reticular thalamic nucleus (RT), a part of the brain's thalamus structure that is responsible for processing sensory information.

Giving the mice Z944, also known as ulixacaltamide, suppressed this area of the brain, stopping the autistic symptoms. Z944 is a drug being studied as a potential treatment for the seizure disorder epilepsy. And the results were impressive: the injection of the drug suppressed activity in this part of the brain, thereby eliminating the symptoms of autism.

Researchers found giving mice the drug just one time reversed signs associated with autism, including increased sensitivity to light and sound, stimming, repetitive behaviors, social issues, and increased risk of seizures.

The findings suggest the processes in the brain that control both epilepsy and autism may overlap, which explains why autistic people are more likely to suffer seizures.

It's thought that autistic people are up to 30 times more at risk of developing epilepsy than the general population, which could worsen cognitive function over time and cause speech and social regression.

The researchers noted Z944 could be used to treat both autism and epilepsy. However, the drug is not yet available for general use and is still undergoing clinical trials for epilepsy.

It's also unclear how these findings would translate to humans.