Targeting CB1Rs restores brain energy production in Rett mice

Increased levels of CB1 cannabinoid protein receptors, known as CB1Rs, may be tied to dysfunction of the brain’s mitochondria — its cellular energy-producing compartments — and to cognitive deficits in Rett syndrome, according to a study in a mouse model. The study also reported that blocking CB1Rs in the…

Abnormal Brain Motor Circuits Help Explain Rett Symptoms: Mouse Study

Mice with Rett syndrome show abnormalities in their brain circuitry that helps to control movement, which may contribute to motor dysfunction that often arises as a symptom of the disease, a new study reports. The results provide “novel in vivo [in living animals] evidence for abnormal motor circuit function”…

Growth Factor, Oxytocin Supported as Potential Combo Therapy

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and oxytocin may normalize the levels of the KCC2 protein — which is abnormal in the brain of Rett syndrome patients — in a region-specific and complementary manner, a study in mice suggests. This finding supports their potential use as a combo therapy for Rett,…

Antidepressant Fluoxetine Increases Cells With MeCP2 in Mouse Model

Treatment with fluoxetine, a type of antidepressant sold under the brand name Prozac, increased the number of cells producing the protein MeCP2 — defective in most cases of Rett syndrome — in several brain regions of a mouse model of the disease, a study reported. These effects were…