Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/31207
4A – Daily News – Monday, May 9, 2011 Vitality & health sideways at his desk in the front row of class, a sneakered foot jittering distractedly, Chase Brown could be any 14-year-old in academic captivity. As the discussion turns to the American history of slavery, the teacher draws Chase back from his apparent reverie. A class- mate has said that Abra- ham Lincoln freed the slaves. Does Chase agree or disagree? Chase locks eyes with his teacher. "I agree," he says emphatically. It is a moment of tri- umph for Chase, one of an estimated 90,000 in the U.S. who live with an inherited form of intellec- tual disability known as fragile X syndrome. Only a year ago, he would have fled the classroom, thrown something at the teacher or stayed mute. Last year, he tested below first-grade level in all aca- demic domains. Impulsive, distracted and quick to boil over, he seemed incapable of learning. This year, he can sit in a classroom for half an hour before needing a "sensory break": a walk around the parking lot to clear his overstimulated brain. He is reading at a fourth-grade level, fol- lowing class discussions, looking teachers squarely in the eyes and answering questions. On a surprising drug — a workhorse antibiotic used since the 1960s to treat acne, skin infections, strep throat and chlamy- dia — Chase is learning. Minocycline, the med- ication Chase has been taking for almost eight months, is one of several drugs that might correct — even reverse — many of the brain perturbations of fragile X and several other developmental dis- orders, including autism. The medications are still far from proven: Large-scale trials may take several years to com- plete. But if they live up to their promise without dangerous side effects, they could accomplish what no medication has been able to: cure a genet- ically based intellectual disability. Last year, Chase was among the first 50 chil- dren and adults with frag- Hope builds for treating intellectual disabilities (MCT) — Slouched MCT photo Chase Brown, 14, of Mission Viejo,has Fragile X,a developmental disability and is taking a drug considered promising in reversing its effects. ile X to take the drug as an experimental treat- ment. Since then, said his mother, Heather Brown, he has changed in ways she hadn't thought possi- ble. He has developed the ability to chat: share details of his day, make thoughtful observations and inquiries, and respond with apparent understanding, even empathy. His explosions of kick- ing, hitting and object hurling, and the terrible remorse that followed, have vanished. It's not sedation: She saw that before when Chase cycled through a list of powerful antipsy- chotic medications. He seems instead to be learn- ing new ways to behave. "It's life-changing, it really is," said Brown, who lives in Mission Viejo, Calif., with Chase and his stepfather. "I was, like, 'Minocycline? They use that for acne.'" The condition that Chase was born with is caused by an abnormal elongation of a portion of DNA on the X chromo- some. It is the most com- mon inherited intellectual disability worldwide, affecting one in about 4,000 babies. It causes some cases of autism. Depending on the extent of the error, a child with fragile X can range from nonverbal to having com- munications skills that are mildly impaired. Epilepsy is common. Short-term memory deficits and very short attention spans can short-circuit academic progress. It can seem like a train wreck of conditions — autism, attention deficit, bipolar disorder, anxiety and more — rolled into a single kid. Yet now there's some genuine muscle pulling on the hope side of the equation, thanks to a con- fluence of parental activism, advances in brain science and luck. "People haven't thought about what it would be like to reverse intellectual disability or mental retardation," says Dr. Randi Hagerman, medical director of Uni- versity of California- Davis' MIND Institute, who ran the minocycline study in which Chase was enrolled. "We now think it may be possible." It's a goal as controver- sial as it is ambitious. For decades, activists and par- ents championed for inclusion for those with what was until recently called "mental retarda- tion" (the preferred term now is "intellectual" or "developmental disabili- ty"). Somewhere along the way, many came to reject the idea that a "cure" was needed, or desirable. To suggest that intellectual disability is an illness cry- ing out for a fix devalues and stigmatizes these children, they contended. Advances in biomed- ical research have already begun putting that convic- tion to the test for families of those with Down syn- drome. In 2009, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine and Packard Children's Hospi- tal announced "a ray of hope" for those born with the condition. Working with mice bred to have the equivalent genetic error, they identified a faulty brain mechanism that dis- rupts the laying down of certain memories and, in turn, learning. They also found that a readily available drug cocktail that boosts the brain chemical norepi- nephrine could compen- sate for the problem, enabling the mice to learn normally. With early use, the scientists suggested, such a drug might put a child born with Down syndrome on a normal cognitive trajectory. Not all parents hailed this "ray of hope." React- ing to the news on a blog called Contrarian, Jenn Power, a Canadian mother of twin boys with Down syndrome, echoed the views of many who have been active in promoting the rights of those with intellectual disabilities. "They do not need a needle in their brain to make them more func- tional, to help them find their car keys," she wrote. "What they need is a soci- ety that values what they have to offer." fitness Nighttime leg twitches may be a sign of heart trouble NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The nighttime twitching of restless legs syndrome may be more than an annoy- ance: New research suggests that in some people, it could be a sign of hidden heart problems. People with very frequent leg movements during sleep were more likely to have thick hearts — a condi- tion that makes them more prone to cardiac problems, stroke and death, the study by Mayo Clinic doctors found. ‘‘We are not saying there is a cause-and-effect rela- tionship,’’ just that restless legs might be a sign of heart trouble that doctors and patients should consider, said Dr. Arshad Jahangir, a heart rhythm specialist at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Scottsdale. He led the study and gave results Sunday at an American College of Cardiology conference in New Orleans. Restless legs syndrome is thought to afflict millions, though there’s argument about just how many. Some doctors think its seriousness has been exaggerated, pos- sibly to help sell treatments. Nutrition Quiz: Alpha-carotene (MCT) — It may not be Professional Personal Convenient • Premium Digital Ask about our Open Fit Technology Discreet and Comfortable Red Bluff Community Center 1500 So. Jackson Wed., May 11, 2011 10:00 am - 3:00 pm 1-800-488-9906 Appointments CALL Limited Hearing Aids for every budget • FREE hearing evaluations • Service/Repair, all makes and models • Batteries & accessories • Preferred provider for most insurance plans: Including PERS, Carpenters, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, etc. • Low monthly payment plan available • Trial Period/ Satisfaction Guaranteed Performed for proper amplification selection only. as exotic as acai berry or as marketable as dark choco- late and red wine, but we have another entrant into the "superfood" sweep- stakes: alpha-carotene. OK, so it's technically a chemi- cal compound, but still ... take our quiz about this potent cousin of the better- known beta-carotene. 1. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention studied medical data on 15,000 subjects from a nutrition survey and found that those with the highest levels of alpha-carotene in their blood were how much less likely to die from all causes over 14 years? a) 13 percent b) 22 percent c) 39 percent 2. Alpha-carotene is part of the Carotenoid com- pound family distinguished by the red, orange and yel- low pigments in vegetables and fruit. What does the body do when it ingests alpha-carotene? a) Converts it into Vita- min B12 b) Converts it into Vita- min A c) Converts it to glucose in the bloodstream 3. Why does alpha- carotene have nutritional bragging rights over beta- carotene? a) Alpha is more effec- tive at inhibiting certain cancer cells b) Alpha is found in tastier foods than beta. c) Alpha has a more pleasant taste than the bitter beta. 4. True or false: An orange pigmentation on a fruit or vegetable means it likely contains more alpha- than beta-carotene. 5. Which of the follow- ing does not have signifi- cant levels of alpha- carotene? a) Cornmeal b) Snap beans c) Whole-wheat bread alse; 5: c.3: a; 4: f ANSWERS: 1: a; 2: b; Sources: http://tuft- shealthletter.com; http://lpi.oregonstate.edu