A group of Indian researchers have developed a compound called “6BIO” – the first compound that has been proved in pre-clinical evaluation to have the potential for improving daily activities like learning and recollecting new tasks in patients with ASD/ Intellectual disability (ID).
The compound can provide a better method to treat Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the potency of the compound has been determined in a pre-clinical mice model.
Current therapeutics to treat ASD aims to alleviate symptoms such as epileptic seizures or sleep issues but not to treat the multiple problems of ASD/ID. A major challenge in finding better therapeutics to treat ASD is the potency of the drug to help the patients to perform their daily activities with efficiency close to that of a healthy person. Achieving this is particularly difficult after a certain age, especially from the mid-childhood stages.
In the present work, Vijaya Verma and other authors from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous research institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), have demonstrated the potential of 6BIO, to treat ASD/ID in a pre-clinical mouse. Using behaviour and electrophysiology techniques, the team of scientists have shown in a research published in the Experimental Brain Research that the administration of 6BIO restores the neuronal function, learning and memory, and reduces epileptic seizures in mice.
The authors of this study Vijaya Verma, M. J. Vijay Kumar, Kavita Sharma, Sridhar Rajaram, Ravi Muddashetty, Ravi Manjithaya, Thomas Behnisch and James P. Clement, identified 6BIO synthesised in JNCASR and found that it restores neuronal function, learning and memory, sociability and reduces epileptic seizures. The other novelty of this study is that 6BIO restored the neural functions not only when administered during development (equivalent of baby (1-2 years) and childhood stages (3-6 years)) but also after mid-childhood (7-11 years) when most of the brain regions are considered to have formed properly.
Patients with ASD still struggle to perform everyday activities without assistance from others as they are unable to learn and recollect new tasks. Data from the current study indicate that 6BIO can help children with ASD learn and recall, be social, and alleviate other symptoms such as seizures or sleep issues.
