Research

Current Projects

Researcher	Agency	Project Title and Description
Sheila Asghar	CUMG - Intramural Grant Program $20,000	Characterization and Treatment of Subclinical Seizures (SCS) in Children with Autism -5/2009-4/2011 -Study aims to characterize differences in EEG patterns, adaptive behaviors, inflammatory cytokines, and glutathione-mediated redox status in autistic children w/ and w/out SCS and identify predictive biomarkers for SCS
Jill James	NIH $1,950,000	Metabolic Biomarkers of Autism Predictive Potential and Genetic Susceptibility 8/2006-5/2011 -funded by NICHD as R01 -5 years, competitive renewable -oxidative stress and gene markers
Jill James	Cure Autism Now/Autism Speaks $419,403	Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN) registry -3 year, competitive, renewable grant to add cases to national registry -15 sites -attempting to set diagnostic / management minimum standards -1/2008-12/2010
Jill James	DoD $178,750	Redox Abnormalities as a Vulnerability Phenotype for Autism and Related Alternations in CNS Development 9/2008-9/2011 -3 years, competitive renewable -Redox abnormality, immune system and treatment
Jill James	HRSA (Mass General Hospital is the Primary Institution) $84,872	Autism Intervention Research Network AIRP Network: Admin Project 9/2008-8/2011
Jill James	HRSA (Mass General Hospital is the Primary Institution) $91,961	Autism Intervention Research Network AIRP Network: Nutrition Project Autism Research Intervention for Physical Health (AIR-P) -2 years, to start 9/09 -5 sites -priorities being established—nutrition, GI, immune
Jill James	Ark Children’s Hospital Foundation $400,000	Oxidative Stress and Epigenetic Dysregulation in the autism brain 11/2009-12/2011
Jill James	Ark Children’s Hospital Foundation $622,967	Treating Oxidative Stress and the Metabolic Pathology of Autism -7/2009-7/2012 -double blind, placebo, cross-over study of nutritional supplementation
Jill James	ACHRI ABI – Intramural Grant Program $125,000	Molecular Mechanisms of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism 12/2009-11/2011
Maya Lopez	Cure Autism Now/Autism Speaks $420,000	Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (ATN) registry -3 year, competitive, renewable grant to add cases to national registry -15 sites -attempting to set diagnostic / management minimum standards -1/2011-12/2013
Mick Tilford	NIH	Measuring Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) in Autism Spectrum Disorders 9/2009-8/2011 -R01 -Recruiting children enrolled in the ATN at Little Rock and Columbia who are 4-17 yrs -Families complete surveys about their health and the health of their child with ASD -Study will determine if cost effectiveness evals involving treatment of children w/ ASDs can be based on QALY outcome measure
Eldon Schulz	CDC $400,000	Autism Surveillance Project Arkansas Autism & Developmental Disabilities Monitoring -1 year, competitive renewable next year -surveillance of 8 y/o cohort in 43 counties; continuation of previous statewide surveillance CDC grant -no recruitment; case abstraction

Publications

James, S.J. The molecular dynamics of folate metabolism and DNA methylation: implications for disease susceptibility and progression. Chapter in Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Polymorphisms and Disease, edited by Ueland, P.M., and Rozen, R. 2004.

James, S.J., Melnyk, S.B. Jernigan, S., Janak, L., Cutler. P., and Neubrander, J,M. Metabolic biomarkers of increased oxidative stress and impaired methylation capacity in children with Autism. Amer.J.Clin.Nutr. 80:1611-17, 2004.

James. S.J., Slikker, W., Melnyk, S. New, E., Pogribna, M., and Jernigan,S. Thimerosal toxicity associated with glutathione depletion: protection with glutathione precursors. Neurotoxicology, 26:1-8, 2005.

Nijhout HF, Reed, MC, Anderson, DF, Mattingly,JC, James, S.J., Ulrich, C.M. Long range allosteric interactions between folate and methionine stabilize DNA methylation reaction rate. Epigenetics 1: 81-87, 2006.

Reed, MC, Nijhout, ML, Gregory,JF, Shane, B, James, SJ, and Ulrich, CM. A Mathematical Model Gives Insights into Nutritional and Genetic Aspects of Folate 1 -Carbon Metabolism J. Nutr.136. 2006.

James SJ, Melnyk S, Halsted CH, Gaylor, DW et al. Metabolic endophenotype and related genetic polymorphisms are associated with oxidative stress in children with autism. American Journal Medical Genetics, 141B:947-956, 2006.

Rose, S, Melnyk, S, Savenka, A. Jernigan, S, Hubanks, A, Cleves, M, James, SJ The frequency of polymorphisms affecting lead and mercury toxicity among children with autism, Am. J. Biochem. Biotechnol. 4:85-94, 2007.

Reed, MC, Thomas, RL, Pavisic, j., James, SJ, Ulrich, CM, and Nijhout. A mathematical model of glutathione metabolism. Theoretical Biology and Medical Modeling 5:8-14, 2008.

Blossom, SJ, Doss, J, Hennings, LJ, Jernigan, S, Melnyk, S, James, SJ. Developmental exposure exposure to trichloroethylene promotes CD4+ T cell differentiation and hyperactivity in association with oxidative stress and neurobehavioral deficits in MRL+/+ mice. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 231:344-53, 2008.

James, SJ, Melnyk S., Jernigan, S, Hubanks, A., Rose, S. and Gaylor, DW. Abnormal transmethylation/transsulfuration metabolism and DNA hypomethylation among parents of autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities 38:1966-75 2008.

James, SJ Oxidative Stress and the Metabolic Pathology of Autism. Book Chapter 11 in: Autism: Current Theories and Evidence. pp 245-268. Editor: AW Zimmerman; Humana Press, New Jersey, 2008.

Li, D., Karp N., Wu Q., Wang, X-L, Melnyk S., James, SJ., Rozen, R. Mefolinate (5-methyltetrahydrofolate), but not folic acid decreases mortality in an animal model of severe methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency. J. Inherited Metabolic Disease 31(3):403-411, 2008.

James, SJ, Melnyk, S., Fuchs, G., Reid,T., Jernigan, S., Pavliv, O., Hubanks,A., and Gaylor, DW. Efficacy of methylcobalamin and folinic acid treatment on glutathione redox status in children with autism. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 89:425-30, 2009.

James SJ, Rose S, Melnyk S, Jernigan S, Blossom S, Pavliv O, Gaylor D. Cellular and mitochondrial glutathione redox imbalance in lymphblastoid cells derived from children with autism. FASEB J 2009 Aug;23(8):2374-83. Epub 2009 Mar 23

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