FRAXA Research Foundation Information

FRAXA Research Foundation is a national 501c3 nonprofit organization. FRAXA’s mission is to find effective treatments and ultimately a cure for Fragile X syndrome. We directly fund research grants and fellowships at top universities around the world. We partner with biomedical and pharmaceutical companies, large and small, to bridge the gap between research discoveries and actual treatments. Treatments for Fragile X are likely to help people affected by autism, Alzheimer’s, and other brain disorders. FRAXA also supports families affected by Fragile X syndrome and raises awareness of this important but relatively unknown disease. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of autism and intellectual disabilities. It affects 1 in 4,000 boys and 1 in 8,000 girls worldwide. Fragile X syndrome occurs when a single gene on the X chromosome shuts down. This gene makes a protein needed for normal brain development. In FXS it does not work properly, the protein is not made, and the brain does not develop as it should. FRAXA was founded in 1994 by three parents of children with Fragile X, Katie Clapp, Michael Tranfaglia MD, and Kathy May, to support scientific research aimed at finding a treatment and a cure for Fragile X. Fragile X research is drastically underfunded, considering its high prevalence, prospects for a cure, and the promise that this research holds for advancing understanding of other disorders like autism, Alzheimer's disease, and X-linked mental retardation.