UAMS, Arkansas Children’s awarded $3.2 million to develop next-generation treatments for rare children’s anomaly
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas medical researchers have received a grant to help them develop treatment for children with a rare anomaly.
The National Institute of Health has awarded $3.2 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute to develop new treatments for children with lymphatic malformations.
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A lymphatic malformation occurs when abnormal lymph vessels form clumps or channels, causing swelling around the head and neck. Although it is not cancerous, researchers say it can cause breathing or feeding problems for children.
Arkansas Children’s pediatric otolaryngology-head and neck surgeon Dr. Graham Strub, who is also an associate professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at UAMS, will lead the research team. A spokesperson said Strub and members of his laboratory have been collecting tissue and blood from lymphatic malformation patients with the goal of developing new treatments to reverse their growth and development.
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Strub and his team will collaborate with UAMS Professor of Radiation Oncology Dr. Robert Griffin to study how microRNAs, which are small molecules that silence the expression of specific genes, can reverse this abnormal gene expression.
“Current treatments for lymphatic malformations have many limitations and often require multiple interventions over a long period of time,” Strub said. “The development of transdermal microRNA therapeutics that silence the genes responsible for lymphatic malformation growth could significantly improve the quality of life of these children.”
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Officials said that the funding would allow the study to continue for five years.
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