“This is the first direct evidence that mitochondria dysfunction contributes to fragile X and autism. I hope it will open up new therapeutic developments.”
– Xinyu Zhao
UW-Madison research published in Nature Neuroscience, Volume 22, pages 386–400 (2019) reveals how one mutation causes fragile X, the most common inherited intellectual disability.
“Fragile X syndrome has been studied as a model of intellectual disability because in theory it’s comparatively simple,” says senior author Dr. Xinyu Zhao, a professor of neuroscience in the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.