A deadly brain disorder - Sanfilippo syndrome in toddlers may find its first treatment in drugs for Alzheimer's disease.

Canadian researchers announce the discovery of MEDNIK, a debilitating genetic syndrome, in a study published December 5 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics. The team demonstrates that this syndrome is caused by a newly found mutation in the human AP1S1 gene.

A new gene responsible for some puberty disorders has been identified by Medical College of Georgia researchers.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has discovered a new form of intellectual disability involving mental retardation (MR) along with the eye defect retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

By applying a public health approach, researchers at three universities have discovered a key indicator for increased risk of mental retardation in the general population. The study assessed population-level risk factors by linking birth records of 12-14-year-old children in Florida with their respective public school records, over the course of a school year.

University of Adelaide geneticist Dr Jozef Gecz and a team of Belgium and UK scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in discovering the causes of intellectual disability.

University of Adelaide geneticist Dr Jozef Gecz and a team of Belgium and UK scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in discovering the causes of intellectual disability.

2 to 3 children in 100 are born with a mental handicap. This can be caused by a genetic defect, but in 80% of the cases scientists do not know which genes are responsible. Now, VIB researchers connected to the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in collaboration with an Australian research team, have discovered that, in a portion of these patients, the mental retardation is caused by a twofold production of two proteins (HSD17B10 and HUWE1).

Researchers have identified a master regulatory molecule that is responsible for triggering the remodeling of neuronal connections that is critical for learning. Malfunctioning of the connection-remodeling machinery that they identified may also play a role in mental retardation, schizophrenia, and drug addiction.

Scientists have discovered how the gene mutation responsible for fragile X syndrome--the most common inherited form of mental retardation--alters the way brain cells communicate.

Researchers discover a protein required for the normal development of the cerebral cortex and to prevent defects associated with mental retardation

Scientists at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have discovered a biological process in brain cell development that may help explain some causes of mental retardation. This understanding may one day help other researchers develop therapies that can reduce specific forms of retardation.