Update on Mitochondrial Research in Autism - Richard Frye, MD @Synchrony 2021

Richard Frye, MD, PhD, is a Child Neurologist with expertise in neurodevelopmental and neurometabolic disorders. He received an MD and PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University and completed his Child Neurology Residency and Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Learning Disabilities at Harvard University/ Children’s Hospital Boston. He has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and serves on several editorial boards. He has conducted several clinical trials demonstrating the efficacy of safe and novel treatments that target underlying physiological abnormalities in children with ASD. He is the Chief of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Presentation outline, by Richard Frye, MD:
"The Brain Foundation has graciously funded three ongoing projects on mitochondrial function at our center. The first project, a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial of a supplement to support mitochondrial function in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have mitochondrial dysfunction is ongoing but the results are still blinded. So far major findings include the fact that children with ASD have a difficult time ingesting anything that is greater than a small quantity, making the delivery of the powder product challenging. We are working on encapsulating the product to improve delivery to a wide number of children.
The second project examines the effect of treatments on a fibroblast model of mitochondrial dysfunction in ASD. We have found unique changes in mitochondrial function in fibroblasts from children with ASD and modulatory effects of N-Acetyl-Cysteine, Rapamycin and Metformin. The third project involves examining fresh brain in children with and without ASD and/or epilepsy. Unique types of mitochondrial dysfunction are found in different types of epilepsy foci and these changes in mitochondrial function correlate with gene expression data from these regions.
Ongoing studies will correlate mitochondrial function with high-frequency oscillations and examine mitochondrial and gene expression differences between those with and without ASD."
#mitochondrial #mito #metabolic
🎥 This talk was part of Synchrony 2021 Online Symposium - 'From Bench to Biopharma', organised by the The BRAIN Foundation in partnership with UC Davis MIND Institute and CalTech.
🎥 For more Synchrony 2021 talks and highlights:
• Synchrony Symposium 20...
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Synchrony synchronysympo... is the first and only international symposium on translational research in #autism, that brings together academia, #biotech, pharmaceutical companies and #venture partners from around the world with the mission to improve health and quality of life of people with #autismspectrumdisorder.
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The BRAIN Foundation brainfoundatio... is a 501c(3) non-profit. The founders of BRAIN envision a world where every child and adult on the autism spectrum is healthy, participates fully in education and employment, and has a better quality of life. It aims to catalyze research that results in evidence-based interventions for the disabilities associated with autism, and also results in better medical standard of care.
To accomplish this, it funds impactful research through #philanthropy and our network of partners in the venture, corporate, and grassroots community.