Arbaclofen

Recent articles

Illustration of a sheet of red and white pills, with the red pills arranged in the form of a question mark.

Going on Trial: Gene therapy for Rett; return to arbaclofen

This month’s newsletter looks at the early safety data from the first gene therapy trial for Rett syndrome, among other drug development news.

By Calli McMurray
29 June 2023 | 6 min read

Multi-lab study hints at benefits of long-tested autism drug

The results lend support for clinical trials of arbaclofen in people with an autism-linked condition, the researchers say.

By Angie Voyles Askham
8 June 2023 | 5 min read
Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele looks directly into the camera with a calm expression in a close up shot.

Swings and misses with Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele

A careful clinician who prizes evidence, Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele is happy to embrace trial failures, as long as he learns from them.

By Peter Hess
30 May 2023 | 13 min read
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Arbaclofen results; another oxytocin edition

New data from clinical trials of arbaclofen and oxytocin underscore the murkiness of null results. Plus, researchers seek clarity on the neurodevelopmental effects of oxytocin during childbirth.

By Laura Dattaro
17 May 2023 | 4 min read
Photograph of white pills and blister pack on blue pastel colored background.

Trials of arbaclofen for autism yield mixed results

Autistic children taking the drug showed improvements in some behaviors but not in their social skills.

By Giorgia Guglielmi
5 May 2023 | 5 min read
A hand reaches from above to add a pill to a stack that is resting against the x-axis of a graph.

Going on Trial: Arbaclofen reboot; cell implants; psilocybin microdoses

Going on Trial rounds up new developments in autism-related drug trials. This month we’re revisiting decade-old data from a trial of arbaclofen for fragile X syndrome and looking into a new implant-based approach to quelling seizures, among other treatment strategies.

By Peter Hess
25 January 2023 | 6 min read
Visual stimulus of 4 circles with black and white stripes.

Visual task flags autistic people who respond to GABA agonists

The investigational drug arbaclofen makes autistic people's brains respond to a visual task more like non-autistic people's brains do.

By Peter Hess
5 January 2022 | 3 min read

Autism-related conditions linked to altered visual perception

A test of binocular rivalry may distinguish between autism subtypes and help researchers screen the efficacy of certain drugs.

By Angie Voyles Askham
5 May 2021 | 3 min read

Brain’s prefrontal cortex conducts symphony of social players

A brain region that orchestrates responses to social cues and aids decision-making may be off tempo in autism.

By Sarah DeWeerdt
20 February 2019 | 1 min watch

Study calls into question chemical messenger’s role in autism

New results from brain scans of adults with autism are at odds with the popular theory that the condition involves weak brakes on brain activity.

By Nicholette Zeliadt
29 October 2018 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

Neuroscientist Julieta Sztarker holds an open-air teach-in for the general public in Plaza Italia in Buenos Aires.

Funding crisis in Argentina sparks new wave of protests

Two years after the country’s research funding collapsed, scientists are demonstrating against the government’s failure to restore previously cut scholarships and increase salaries as required by a 2025 law.

By Claudia López Lloreda, Natalia Mesa
8 May 2026 | 4 min read
Conceptual image of disjointed communication.

‘Slightly unhinged’ federal autism meeting portends unclear research priorities

The meeting last week sparked concerns about the latest Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee’s ability to perform its core function: developing a strategy to support autism research.

By Daisy Yuhas
7 May 2026 | 5 min read

Ehud Ahissar offers a new kind of dualism for neuroscience

He explains how “perceptual dualism” can account for the way we communicate via digital symbols and perceive the world via analog brain processes.

By Paul Middlebrooks
6 May 2026 | 102 min listen