Four Years and 100 Big Ones Later

On this, the fourth anniversary of Mitchell Herndon's passing from Mitchell Syndrome on Oct. 2, 2019, we are honored to announce an additional $50,000 gift from The Mitchell and Friends Foundation to the Miller Lab at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. (Complete with a big check!)

This gift brings our donation total to Wash U to $100,000--all of which is being used to understand Mitchell Syndrome better, and search for possible treatments. Under the leadership of renowned neurologist and neuroscientist Dr. Timothy Miller, his hard-working team of researchers is making promising strides towards developing an ASO treatment for ACOX1 gain-of-function (otherwise known as Mitchell Syndrome). Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are a form of synthetic gene therapy that can target genes at their source, altering or modifying the expression of proteins throughout a person's body. It is cutting edge research, and while we are many steps away from making ASOs available to Mitchell Syndrome patients, we are encouraged by the progress and honored that the Miller Lab has included Mitchell Syndrome in their research, donating lab time and staff resources.

These promising developments would also not be possible without your donations and continued support. Nor would they be possible without Mitchell Herndon and the legacy he left behind in the hearts and minds of all who knew him. This includes Dr. Robert Bucelli, an associate of Dr. Miller's, and Mitchell's adult neurologist at the end of his life. Click on the video below to enjoy a few words from Dr. Bucelli about what he remembers of the young man we are all missing a bit more, today.