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Advances in Autism Research

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have succeeded in reversing the symptoms of mental retardation and autism in mice.

The scientists think that inhibiting a certain enzyme in the brain could also work in children to counteract what's known as "Fragile X Syndrome." That's considered the leading inherited cause of mental retardation and the most common genetic cause of autism.

Nobel prize-winning biology and neuroscience professor Susumu Tonegawa is a co-author of the study at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and joins WBUR's Deborah Becker to discuss the apparent breakthrough.

This program aired on June 26, 2007. The audio for this program is not available.

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