What Is Holoprosencephaly?
Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is a relatively common birth defect
of the brain, which often can also affect facial features,
including closely spaced eyes, small head size, and sometimes
clefts of the lip and roof of the mouth, as well as other birth
defects.
Holoprosencephaly is a disorder caused by the failure of the
prosencephalon (the embryonic forebrain) to
sufficiently divide into the double lobes of the cerebral
hemispheres.
The result is a single-lobed brain structure and severe
skull and facial defects. In most cases of holoprosencephaly,
the malformations are so severe that babies die before
birth.
In less severe cases, babies are born with normal or
near-normal brain development and facial deformities that may
affect the eyes, nose and upper lip.
Health
Related Websites
The National Cancer
Institute
The National Eye
Institute
The National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute

National Institute on
Aging

National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases

National Institute of
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

National Institute on Drug
Abuse

National Institute of Mental
Health

National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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