Local residents Ed and Noelle Aloe hosted “Bridge to a Cure for Autism” at their home Saturday night to raise awareness and funds for the work of Dr. Robert Naviaux, professor of medicine, pediatrics and pathology at UC San Diego’s School of Medicine.
Though there are no drugs approved for treating the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, Naviaux has found that a single intravenous dose of Suramin, a 100-year-old drug developed to treat African sleeping sickness and river blindness, produced dramatic, but transient, improvement. The more than $110,000 raised will further the lab’s ability to conduct larger, longer clinical trials to assess Suramin (and similar drugs) as a treatment.
The lab is funded 100% by philanthropic donations. For more information or to contribute, visit crowdsurf.ucsd.edu/project/6895/wall.
