Disrupted Development of Immature Brain Cells Causes Hydrocephalus

University of Iowa researchers have discovered a new cause of hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder that affects between one and three of every 1,000 babies born. Working with mice, investigators identified a cell signaling defect, which disrupts immature brain cells involved in normal brain development. By bypassing the defect with a drug treatment, the team was able to correct one aspect of the cells’ development and reduce the severity of the hydrocephalus. Their findings appear in the Nov. 18 online edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

“Our findings identify a new molecular mechanism underlying the development of neonatal hydrocephalus,” says Calvin Carter, a student in the University of Iowa Graduate Program in Neuroscience and first author of the study. “By targeting this defective signaling pathway in mice using an FDA-approved drug, we were able to successfully treat this disease non-invasively.” For more information, click here to read the full release.