The effects of a facilitated online blog on the quality of communication life of adolescents and young adults with autism specrum disorders

The quality of life, specifically the quality of communication life, of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is lower than those with no disability or with physical disabilities. This disparity stems from barriers including social isolation and reduced social communication skills for individuals with ASD. Speech-language pathologists should work to eliminate this discrepancy because of the interest individuals with ASD have in communicating as well as the scope of practice and code of ethics outlined for the profession. In the current study, the effect of an online blog facilitated by graduate student speech-language pathologists on the quality of communication life of 6 adolescents (ages14 -22 years) was examined. No increase in quality of communication life was found when comparing scores on the Quality of Communication Life scale pre- and post-intervention. Some more descriptive data suggests that participants enjoyed the blog and the blog allowed for an increase in participants' social interaction

Identification and characterisation of anti-IL-13 inhibitory single domain antibodies provides new insights into receptor selectivity and attractive opportunities for drug discovery

Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is a cytokine involved in T-cell immune responses and is a well validated therapeutic target for the treatment of asthma, along with other allergic and inflammatory diseases. IL-13 signals through a ternary signalling complex formed with the receptors IL-13Rα1 and IL-4Rα. This complex is assembled by IL-13 initially binding IL-13Rα1, followed by association of the binary IL-13:IL-13Rα1 complex with IL-4Rα. The receptors are shared with IL-4, but IL-4 initially binds IL-4Rα. Here we report the identification and characterisation of a diverse panel of single-domain antibodies (VHHs) that bind to IL-13 (KD 40 nM-5.5 μM) and inhibit downstream IL-13 signalling (IC50 0.2-53.8 μM). NMR mapping showed that the VHHs recognise a number of epitopes on IL-13, including previously unknown allosteric sites. Further NMR investigation of VHH204 bound to IL-13 revealed a novel allosteric mechanism of inhibition, with the antibody stabilising IL-13 in a conformation incompatible with receptor binding. This also led to the identification of a conformational equilibrium for free IL-13, providing insights into differing receptor signalling complex assembly seen for IL-13 compared to IL-4, with formation of the IL-13:IL-13Rα1 complex required to stabilise IL-13 in a conformation with high affinity for IL-4Rα. These findings highlight new opportunities for therapeutic targeting of IL-13 and we report a successful 19F fragment screen of the IL-13:VHH204 complex, including binding sites identified for several hits. To our knowledge, these 19F containing fragments represent the first small-molecules shown to bind to IL-13 and could provide starting points for a small-molecule drug discovery programme