Monday, February 4, 2008

Seaside Therapeutics funds Vanderbilt research on autism cause

Seaside Therapeutics, a Cambridge developer of treatments for brain disorders, reports it has awarded a $4.5 million contract to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to discover compounds for treating "fragile X syndrome."

Fragile X syndrome, which affects 90,000 Americans, is caused by a mutation of a gene that prevents the body from making a protein key to normal brain function and is a common genetic cause of autism, according to the company.

Seaside said research has shown that neurological and psychiatric symptoms of the syndrome have been linked to excessive signaling of a separate gene, and scientists at Vanderbilt have identified more than 400 chemical compounds that could inhibit that gene.

Seaside is a privately held biotech that lists its scientific founder as Mark Bear, a professor of neuroscience at MIT. Spokeswoman Sarah Cavanaugh said the firm was founded in 2005 and employs six people.