MECP2 and autism spectrum disorder: In both acute and chronic diseases, elevated glutamate levels often cause a range of problems, varying from excitotoxicity and cell death in acute injury to impaired synaptic plasticity and development as seen in RTT 10,11 a developmental disorder caused by the mutation of the gene responsible for encoding methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2), a transcription regulator that has also been shown to be disrupted in autism spectrum disorders 12-14.