FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON April 23, 2007

Boston Researcher Honored by AAN Foundation for Pediatric Brain Research

Omar Khwaja, MD, PhD, Receives 2007 AAN Foundation Clinical Research Training Fellowship

ST. PAUL, Minn -

The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Foundation has awarded Omar Khwaja, MD, PhD, of Children’s Hospital Boston, a 2007 Clinical Research Training Fellowship. Khwaja’s research focuses on brain abnormalities in babies. Khwaja will receive the award during the American Academy of Neurology’s 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, held April 28 – May 5, 2007. The two-year fellowship is designed to support a young neurologist conducting clinical research in a mentored environment. Khwaja’s work sought to identify subtypes of some of the most common childhood brain abnormalities called agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC)—and correlate them with development of specific neurological problems. ACC can be detected using brain scans of fetuses and infants. Khwaja plans to study babies diagnosed with ACC with a series of standardized neurological, cognitive, motor, and behavioral tests from birth into early childhood to determine whether they suffer from neurological conditions as they grow. “By correlating the categories of ACC with specific neurological outcomes, we will enable clinicians in the future to make more accurate predictions of early neurological outcome in cases of ACC,” said Khwaja. “This study will also lead to a better understanding of how the corpus callosum develops, thus opening the way for researchers to discover potential treatments by which ACC and its neurological outcomes can be limited or prevented.” The corpus callosum is a bundle of nerve fibers that serves as the major connection between the two sides of the brain. In a human fetus the corpus callosum forms between eight and 22 weeks of development. If the corpus callosum does not develop fully, poor brain development can result in ACC, which affects up to three infants per 1,000 births. The condition can be diagnosed in both the fetus and newborn by ultrasound imaging, but physicians are not able to accurately predict what, if any, neurological problems a growing child may experience due to ACC. Children can eventually develop a range of neurological problems including epilepsy, mental retardation, abnormal muscle tone, learning disabilities, psychiatric disorders, and autism. “This wide range of possible outcomes makes predicting the outcome in any one case of ACC extremely difficult,” said Khwaja. The fellowship also provides tuition reimbursement for education in clinical research methodology. The fellowship is supported by the AAN Foundation Corporate Roundtable. The 59th Annual Meeting takes place in the Hynes Convention Center. It is the world’s largest annual gathering of neurologists.

The American Academy of Neurology Foundation works with the American Academy of Neurology to support education and research for the prevention, treatment and cure of neurologic disorders. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. For more information, visit www.neurofoundation.org.