Studies published by the journal Nature Genetics say that microcephaly, a disorder which leads to an abnormally small brain, has been traced in part to a flaw in a gene called WDR62 that plays a key role in the development of neurons.
Microcephaly, signalled by a small head and receding forehead, can be extremely disabling, handicapping speech and motor functions. There is no cure.
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Head injury or traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of disability among children and young adults that leads to varying degrees of physical and mental stability. Fortunately, it is also one of the preventable brain disorder.
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The WDR62 abnormality is one of a range of suspected genetic links to microcephaly. The condition also has environmental causes, including foetal exposure to alcohol, drugs and viruses such as chicken pox and German measles.
The studies are headed by C. Geoffrey Woods at Cambridge University and Christopher Walsh at the Boston Children's Hospital in Massachusetts.
Working separately, they spotted the WDR62 flaw by looking at the genomes of families with a history of microcephaly and by examining human and mouse embryonic cells in the lab.
Source: AFP
Working separately, they spotted the WDR62 flaw by looking at the genomes of families with a history of microcephaly and by examining human and mouse embryonic cells in the lab.
Source: AFP
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Brain tumors are the abnormal growth of brain cells that may be benign or metastatic. Brain tumors account for about 2.4% of all the tumor diagnosesandare most challenging due to their critically delicate location.
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