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Drug reverses autism-like brain changes in adult mice within hours

uclahealth.org

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Re: Drug reverses autism-like brain changes in adult mice within hours

#8
Being autistic myself, I feel conflicted about trying to "cure autism"

Every day is challenging because I have to manage my energy, mask in social situations and at work, etc

On the other hand, I like who I am and I'm also very good at what I do because my brain is structured the way it is. I can imagine a society that is structured in a way, where I don't need the accommodations I'm currently dependent on

If the negative impacts I'm experiencing are a consequence of the how we've structured our society, then I don't think it's autistic people who need to change to fit in

Of course there are much more severe cases than me where autistic people need much more support and have severe learning disabilities, where it could be a huge improvement to quality of life

If it was possible to fully trust that a hypothetical "cure" would only be used in these severe cases, I might be excited about a potential breakthrough, but historically this unfortunately haven't been the case

Re: Drug reverses autism-like brain changes in adult mice within hours

#9
This is interesting, it may be a type of thing I'd be curious about at some point. I don't think it's possible to undo the general way my brain is organized (badly), but I'd be curious to see if I'd get any benefit anyway.

(I seem to be a rare type of autistic, because while I can reliably find all three other major types, it has been very difficult for me to find more of my own :/)

Re: Drug reverses autism-like brain changes in adult mice within hours

#10

> The effects of rapamycin are temporary, and repeated dosing loses efficacy, making rapamycin, itself, an unlikely candidate as a broadly-used treatment.

Cycling is possible

Doesn't the "potential for toxicity from repeated doses" make this sort of doubtful?
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