International team of investigators discovers likely basis of
birth defect causing premature skull closure in infants Genetic
differences identified in children with sagittal
craniosynostosis An international team of geneticists,
pediatricians, surgeons, and epidemiologists from 23
institutions across three continents have identified two areas
of the human genome associated with the most common form of non-
syndromic craniosynostosis ― premature closure of the bony
plates of the skull. "We have discovered two genetic factors
that are strongly associated with the most common form of
premature closure of the skull," said Simeon Boyadjiev,
professor of pediatrics and genetics, principal investigator for
the study, a researcher affiliated with the UC Davis MIND
Institute, and leader of the International Craniosynostosis
Consortium. The study, "A genome-wide association study
identifies susceptibility loci for non-syndromic sagittal
craniosynostosis near BMP2 and within BBS9," is published online
today in the journ