Fragile X Syndrome

Dr. Willemsen is a Professor for Functional Neurogenetics in the Department of Clinical Genetics at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He is a leader in the development and characterization of genetic animal models for FXS (mouse and zebrafish). His research group has been involved in the understanding of the molecular basis of FXS and currently his group is focused on experimental approaches towards therapeutic intervention for FXS. The first avenue of research has resulted in several knockout mice for the Fmr1 gene, including conditional knockout, that are now used worldwide as the standard in (pre-clinical and fundamental research) studies for FXS. Dr. Frank Kooy is Professor in Cognitive Genetics at Department of Medical Genetics of the University of Antwerp. His research successfully focusses on the identification of genetic causes of cognitive disorders, such as intellectual disability and autism and to study the defective genes with the ultimate goal of developing rational therapies. He has been involved in research on multiple aspects of the Fragile X Syndrome research for two decades.

Clinics, diagnosis, epidemiology, molecular mechanisms and models 1. The Clinical Phenotype of the Fragile X Syndrome and Related Disorders 2. Fragile X Syndrome Genetics 3. Molecular Diagnostics and Genetic Counseling in Fragile X syndrome and FMR1 associated disorders 4. Epidemiology of Fragile X Syndrome 5. Mechanisms of repeat instability in Fragile X Syndrome 6. Modeling Fragile X Syndrome Using Human Pluripotent Stem Cells 7. Animal models - drosophila, mouse, rat and zebrafish

Pathways Involved 8. RNA and protein targets of FMRP 9. The mGluR Theory of Fragile X from Mice to Men 10. The GABAergic System contributions to the Fragile X Syndrome Phenotype 11. Intracellular Signaling Networks in Fragile X Syndrome: Approaches to Drug Discovery and Therapeutics 12. The Endocannabinoid System in Fragile X Syndrome 13. Glycogen synthase kinase-3: Abnormalities and therapeutic potential in Fragile X syndrome 14. Defects in Rho GTPase signaling to the spine actin cytoskeleton in FMR1 knockout mice 15. Matrix Metalloproteinases in Fragile X Syndrome 16. Ion channel dysfunction and FXS 17. Reactivation of FMR1 gene

Clinical trials 18. Drug discovery for targeted pharmacotherapy of Fragile X Syndrome 19. Overview of targeted double blind, placebo controlled clinical trials in Fragile X Syndrome 20. Reflections on Clinical trials in Fragile X syndrome 21. Toward better outcome measures in clinical trials 22. Fragile X Research from a Parental Perspective