New Drug Could Combat Symptoms of Autism

Autism is defined as a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.   Vanderbilt University in Nashville, neuroscientists may have created an experimental drug that eases some the core behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorders in mice.  There were two groups of mice.  One, called BTBR repetitively grooms themselves and is not social with other mice.  The other group, called C58, jumps over and over again, up to 50 times a minute.  Thirty minutes after giving the mice a dose of GRN-529, the grooming and jumping lessened significantly.  GRn-529 works by interfering with a protein in nerve cells called mGluR5, which detects the brain chemical glutamate. Effects on repetitive behaviors are much more significant than that on social behaviors.
This mouse finding could lead to human studies in the near future.  Similar medicines are being tested in humans for fragile X syndrome.  Three companies are working on related compounds in people with this fragile X syndrome.  About 30 percent of people with fragile X syndrome meet the criteria far autism spectrum disorders. Since mouse social behavior is much more basic than human social behavior, there is still much more work to be done before testing on humans is done.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/340276/title/Test_drug_eases_behavioral_symptoms_seen_in_autism_