Cincinnati Children’s receives $6.4 million NIH grant for research on genetic nerve disease

Thanks to Nancy Ratner, Ph.D., and her colleagues at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), study on a heretofore largely neglected nerve disorder is now vigorously underway.

Upon hearing of the efforts of Ratner and her colleagues, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) granted CCHMC $6.4 million to delve deeper into discovering the genetic impetus for neurofibromatosis type-1 (NF1).

CCHMC will use these funds to launch the Center for Neurofibromatosis Research, which aims to refine treatments for this rare disease – afflicting one in 3,000 – that causes disfiguration, learning disorders, and occasionally leads to leukemia and the development of malignant tumors.

Dr. Ratner’s lab published a study in the February edition of the science journal, Cancer Cell, which illustrates that the timing of the gene mutation which leads to NF1 determines whether or not NF1 will develop. 

Lab tests show this precise timing occurs half way through the 12th day of a mouse’s embryonic development.

Towards the goal of improving NF1 treatment, colleagues at CCHMC, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Minnesota will conduct a number of multidisciplinary projects with the help of this NIH grant.

More information about this study can be found here.

Writer: Jonathan DeHart