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Month: December 2021

So Your Child Received a GRIN2B Diagnosis; What’s Next?

By Liz Marfia-Ash, President and Founder of GRIN2B Foundation

In our Private GRIN2B Parent Support Group on Facebook, a parent recently commented that most GRIN2B Parents have read the blog post I wrote back in 2016 – To the Person Who Just Googled GRIN2B For the First Time. I don’t know if that’s true, but, regardless, it’s an immense responsibility and privilege to know that my words are impacting newly diagnosed families. It’s why I wrote the article in the first place, but it’s quite another thing to hear someone else say it.

In 2016, I wrote to give future families hope. 

I wanted more families to find us and know that we were getting organized. I wanted families to have what I didn’t have – a soft place to land when they received the diagnosis for their child. We’ve accomplished that, and families from all over the world have found us. 

Now I’m writing to tell you what to do next. A lot is happening in our community in the coming year, and I want you to be prepared and know how you can participate.

Two of the events we’re most excited for in 2022 are hosting our twice-postponed GRIN2B Family Weekend in July 2022 and launching the first ever Center of Excellence for GRI Disorders! 

The Family Weekend will be July 15th and 16th, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, just minutes away from O’Hare Airport in Chicago. We’re planning an amazing two days for families, full of GRIN2B updates, resources and as many opportunities for families to connect and bond as we can squeeze in. 

The Center of Excellence is an idea we have been working on since late 2019. Working with input from the team at Cure GRIN Foundation, this Center will be a place where all patients with GRIN, GRIA, GRIK and GRID Disorders can go to see a Team of experts. We are still finalizing the details, but the first Center will hopefully open in Spring of 2022 in Denver, Colorado. Our dream is to open more Centers around the U.S. in future years, though that will be dependent on increasing our fundraising. More to come soon!

Excitingly, we are also finally on the precipice of our first clinical trial! In case you missed the news, the newly formed GRIN Therapeutics is launching a clinical trial for the drug Radiprodil in 2022 for GRIN2B patients with a Gain of Function variation. If you’re not sure what Gain of Function even means, you can get a simple definition at the bottom of this page. Or read this blog from Dr. Tim Benke.

Or, follow along for my quick and dirty explanation.

  1. Your child receives their diagnosis. Their genetic report will list the details of your child’s specific variant. (Example: c.1146 G>A) This page helps explain the different types of variations that can occur and how to read your child’s genetic report.
  2. Each variant is then going to be further classified as either Gain of Function or Loss of Function. 
  3. Different medications will be recommended depending on which type of classification your child falls into (Gain or Loss). 
  4. As previously mentioned, the upcoming Radiprodil clinical trial is only for Gain of Function patients. There will be additional trials down the line for Loss of Function patients.

We are working with the team at GRIN Therapeutics to help design this upcoming Clinical Trial and determine the best locations to have trial sites. But to do this, we need to know which patients are classified as Gain of Function. And for that to happen, we need every GRIN2B patient to be enrolled in the GRIN Variant Patient Registry.

So, if you haven’t already, please do the following:

  1. Enroll in the Registry
  2. Once enrolled, your child’s variant info will be sent to the Center for Functional Evaluation of Rare Variants (CFERV) at Emory University where they will perform the functional analysis to determine if the variant is Gain or Loss.
  3. If the variant is found to be Gain of Function, start thinking about the possibility of enrolling your child in the upcoming clinical trial.

Feeling overwhelmed yet? It’s complicated for me to explain, so I imagine how this must feel to newly diagnosed families. Our Family Advisory Committee is currently working on developing Welcome Packets and Checklists for our Community to help get you started on the right foot. In the meantime, I’ve created some helpful checklists below. Keep in mind, these lists are not all inclusive. Think of this post as merely a starting point, and know that something more comprehensive is in the works.

Please, please, pretty please put these at the top of your list (if you haven’t already done them).

  • JOIN the Family Contact Registry for GRIN2B Foundation. This puts you on our organization’s mailing list. It also gives us a general idea of how many families we are supporting and where everyone is located.
  • ENROLL in the GRIN Variant Registry (See all the reasons I mentioned above.)
  • JOIN our private GRIN2B Parent Support Group (if on Facebook) to connect with other families – we’ve got an incredibly welcoming community! (Be sure to answer our questions when you request to join or we cannot approve you.)
  • FOLLOW us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

Other things to keep on your radar and do when you can, if you can.

  • Start educating yourself on the clinical trial process. Read this blog and watch these webinars.
  • Save the Date for our Family Weekend July 2021. (We will have Travel Stipends available and registration will open early 2022.)
  • Enroll in Simons Searchlight’s GRIN2B study.
  • There are more research studies in the pipeline. Keep an ear out for new opportunities.
  • Fundraise for us, or consider making a monthly or one time donation. We see our GRIN2B families as families first and foremost and NOT as donors. That being said, GRIN2B is not really the type of disorder that is going to get donations from random, rich strangers. Our biggest donors are either families themselves or friends and relatives of GRIN2B patients. We have a lot going on in the coming years, and we are going to need the community to participate in fundraising. You don’t need to throw a fancy gala. We have so many easy ways to fundraise for us listed on our website. The truth is, we cannot keep working at this current pace without more fundraising support.
  • Let us know if you want to get more involved. We’re always looking for people skilled in the following areas – Fundraising, Legal, Financial, Marketing, Science/Medical. Email me at liz.marfia-ash@grin2b.com.

Resources to help you and your extended family. (The holidays are a great time to share these resources with loved ones who may be interacting with your family.)

Recommended blog posts. (They’re short and easy to digest and should feel relatable.)

If the above lists have you feeling stressed out, take a deep breath. And then sit and think for a second about how none of these programs, clinical trials, future centers of excellence, resources, fundraisers and support groups existed seven years ago. We have so much to be thankful for. “I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” – Brene Brown

Ashley Reid, a GRIN2B mom on our Family Advisory Committee recently shared an amazing testimonial about our organization.

“Whether we are looking for community, advice, the latest research studies or just to feel less alone, the GRIN2B Foundation makes room for everyone.”

BEE ICONMaking room for everyone is at the heart of our Foundation. Everyone comes to us at a different place; some have babies who are being diagnosed, and some are finally putting a name to what their adult children have lived with their entire lives. There is no right or wrong way to process the diagnosis or get involved with our community. But, for those who are ready to get involved in whatever way possible, this blog is the resource you are looking for.

There’s truly no rush to do everything at once. Just do the next right thing.

GRIN2B Foundation Awards $40K Research Grant to Emory University

GRIN2B Foundation is pleased to announce an award of $40,000 to Emory University to promote scientific understanding of the ultra-rare genetic condition known as GRIN2B-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder.

GRIN2B Foundation’s 2021 research grant recipient is Dr. Hongjie Yuan, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA, and Deputy Director of the Center for Functional Evaluation of Rare Variants (CFERV) for his research project entitled:

“Functional Evaluation and Therapeutic Strategies for an Animal Model Harboring a Disease-associated Gain of Function GRIN2B Variant”

Building on the grant Dr. Yuan received a year ago to study the impact of a Loss of Function GRIN2B variant on NMDA receptor function, Dr. Yuan and his team will now replicate the study, only this time with a Gain of Function GRIN2B variant. ​​Using multiple techniques, they will show how a Gain of Function GRIN2B-p.Ser810Arg variant identified in a pediatric patient with intellectual disability and seizures influences synaptic activity/connectivity, seizure threshold and behaviors in a knock-in mouse line harboring the variant. They will also assess if the addition of substances (e.g. Radiprodil, Memantine, Ketamine) to the mouse models will lessen the impact of the GRIN2B variant. 

Read more about Dr. Yuan, his current project and our previously funded projects here.

According to Dr. Stephen Traynelis, Professor of Pharmacology at Emory University and member of GRIN2B Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board:

“The GRIN2B Foundation has a history of funding cutting edge research on new treatment options for patients with GRIN variants. Dr. Hongjie Yuan is a leader in conceptualizing new therapeutic strategies for patients with GRIN variants. The ongoing work is exciting, has stimulated interest in the private sector for treatment strategies, and is poised to provide new insight into how the GRIN2B gene can influence development and human behavior. It’s hard to overstate the impact of this particular study for the community of patients and families associated with GRIN variants, enabled both by generous donations and the support of GRIN2B foundation.”   

We would not be able to award these important research grants without our community of patients, families, scientists, clinicians and people like you. Thank you for believing in and powering our mission. Make a donation today and impact vital research as we drive closer to treatments every single day.

DONATE TODAY TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING RESEARCH

Thank you,

Liz Marfia-Ash, GRIN2B Foundation Board President