Anticancer drug can restore social deficits from autism

Published March 16, 2018 This content is archived.

An article in Medical News Today reports new UB research has shown that an approved anticancer drug can significantly restore the social deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder in mice, and quotes Zhen Yan, professor of physiology and biophysics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. "We have discovered a small molecule compound that shows a profound and prolonged effect on autism-like social deficits without obvious side effects, while many currently used compounds for treating a variety of psychiatric diseases have failed to exhibit the therapeutic efficacy for this core symptom of autism," she said.