{"id":6691,"date":"2025-05-03T12:35:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T12:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autism.fratnow.com\/blog\/?p=6691"},"modified":"2025-05-05T04:59:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T04:59:36","slug":"the-history-of-the-frat-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/autism.fratnow.com\/blog\/the-history-of-the-frat-test\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of the FRAT\u00ae Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”6692″ img_size=”full”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Introduction”][vc_column_text single_style=””]Science is full of delightful and sometimes world-changing discoveries that emerge despite\u2014or even because of\u2014researchers chasing slightly different goals. <\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text single_style=””]That being said, then maybe we can think that science thrives on serendipity<\/em> \u2014 prepared minds stumbling onto things they weren\u2019t looking for! As famed physicist Joseph Henry stated: “The seeds of great discoveries are constantly floating around us, but they only take root in minds well-prepared to receive them.<\/em>“[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text single_style=””]Maybe the history of the FRAT\u00ae<\/sup> (Folate Receptor Autoantibody Test)<\/a> falls into a similar category. Its history and development are certainly fascinating! [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”History of the Folate Receptor Autoantibody Test (FRAT\u00ae<\/sup>)” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_custom_heading text=”1. Origins and Discovery (2000s)” font_container=”tag:h3|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_column_text single_style=””]<\/p>\n

The FRAT\u00ae<\/sup> test emerged from decades long research by Dr. Edward Quadros<\/strong> and his colleagues at SUNY Downstate Medical Center<\/strong>, who investigated the role of folate in neurodevelopment and the impact of autoantibodies on folate transport, together with Dr. Vincent Raemakers from Belgium.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text single_style=””]The question Dr. Quadro\u2019s lab was looking to answer was quite straightforward but also very complicated. The food supply in the United States is fortified with folic acid (a synthetic B-9 vitamin), in order to prevent neural tube defects<\/a>; so why is it that women were still having children with neural tube defects? Neural tube defects did decrease after food fortification for folic acid, however, there was still a large among of NTD births post-folate fortification. What in the folate cycle\/folate metabolism was causing this? Something was certainly amiss.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text single_style=””]With this question in mind, Dr. Edward Quadros came across the first sampling of folate receptor autoantibodies. Folate receptor autoantibodies (FRAAs)<\/a> were first identified via the FRAT\u00ae<\/sup> test in women with a history of neural tube defect (NTD) pregnancies, suggesting an autoimmune mechanism disrupting folate delivery to the fetus. This was a remarkable finding and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. A new condition contributing to neural tube defects was discovered![\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text single_style=””]The next step was to look for these folate receptor autoantibodies in children, when the same group came across a large number of children that were regressing in their development. Why was this the case? It seemed that they were developing typically for the first several months after birth, when, out of nowhere, there were major regressions in their development. Symptoms that suddenly occurred without warning included: [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text single_style=””]<\/p>\n