Your Money at Work

Dear Friend of the Kate Foundation:

This week, Jonathan Kipnis, Ph.D. and colleagues at the University of Virginia published a paper in Nature, a premier peer-reviewed science journal, demonstrating that severe symptoms of Rett syndrome in mice were arrested when faulty immune cells in the brain—called microglia—were replaced with healthy cells via bone marrow transplant.

Your generous donations to the Kate Foundation helped fund this research through our relationship with the Rett Syndrome Research Trust (RSRT).  Your contributions have made a direct impact on the science and have opened a potential new avenue for understanding Rett syndrome and developing possible treatments.  This is your money at work!

Bone marrow transplantation is a serious medical procedure, and the prospect of applying the mouse model results to humans is being approached with appropriate caution.  Further testing, replication of the results, and additional investigation is required to explore the possibilities.  Potential drug-based therapies which might boost microglia function are also being considered.

Kate will soon be five years old, and we are excited about the promise this research holds and the opportunities it may present.  We deeply thank you for supporting the Kate Foundation and our goal to help Kate and all children and adults with Rett syndrome live a more independent life.

Thank you again for your generosity and support.

Sincerely,

Jeff and Sarah Canavan

Kate Foundation for Rett Syndrome Research

944 Main Street | Suite 202

Branford, Connecticut 06405

www.katefoundation.org