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White Matter Development and Diseases Research
White matter is brain tissue that carries information between the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. When white matter doesn’t develop the way it should, or is somehow damaged, the result can be mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Disorders associated with loss of white matter include leukodystrophies (an inherited form of white matter malfunction), acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis (ADEM), and cerebral palsy, which is the most common disorder associated with white matter malfunction.
Unfortunately, modern medicine has a very limited understanding of the causes of white matter diseases. Scientists at Children's National Medical Center are working to change that.
Investigators in the Center for Neuroscience Research study how white matter develops and grows, including the intricacies of these developmental processes in utero. Better understanding how typical white matter develops may help scientists learn how to stimulate re-growth of white matter after injury or deterioration. Developmental studies of white matter include study of the myelination and remyelination of white matter in murine (mouse) models. Investigators from the Center for Genetic Medicine Research through the White Matter Disease Program use advanced gene sequencing and protein analysis to develop new tools to diagnose and eventually treat white matter disorders, including:
- Vanishing white matter disease
- Alexander disease
- Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts
- Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPC)
- Hypomyelinating leukodystrophies (HML)
- Unclassified or undiagnosed leukodystrophies
The White Matter Disease Program currently offers testing programs for vanishing white matter, unclassified white matter disease, and hypomyelinating leukodystrophies.
Faculty who study white matter
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