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Mutations in a gene involved in brain development have led to the discovery of two new neurodevelopmental diseases by an international team led by researchers at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ and CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center.

The first clues about the rare disorder arose after doctors were unable to diagnose why two siblings from Québec City were experiencing seizures and neurodevelopmental deficits. Desperate, the children’s family turned to Carl Ernst at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal for answers.

Classified as: Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, health and lifestyle, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, neurodevelopmental diseases, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Carl Ernst, Philippe Campeau, brain development
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Published on: 25 Apr 2019

McGill researchers have discovered, for the first time, the importance of a key epigenetic regulator in the development of the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with learning, memory and neural stem cells. Epigenetic regulators change the way specific genes function without altering their DNA sequence. By working with mutant mice as models, the research team, led by Prof. Xiang-Jiao Yang, of McGill’s Goodman Cancer Center & Department of Medicine, Ï㽶ÊÓƵ Health Center, was able to link the importance of a specific epigenetic regulator known as BRPF1 to the healthy development of a region in the hippocampus called the dentate gyrus.

Classified as: Research, learning, epigenetics, memory, epigenetic, McGill News, brain development, hippocampus development, Xiang-Jiao Yang
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Published on: 10 Mar 2015
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