Investigating Disorders of Neurological Development
The Gordon and Mary Cain Pediatric Neurology Research Foundation Laboratories seeks to uncover the basic causes of presently incurable and devastating neurological disorders in infants and young children. These disorders, which account for a substantial proportion of childhood neurological illness, are characterized by seizures, epilepsy, brain malformations and other permanent and debilitating problems of neurological development.
The research being conducted at the Cain Foundation Laboratories is aimed at developing new treatments for these neurological disorders, for which drug therapy currently offers patients little hope of having a normal life.
Research is conducted at Texas Children's Hospital, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. The close relationship between Texas Children's and Baylor College of Medicine permits the Cain Foundation Laboratories to draw upon internationally renowned faculty and staff to accomplish its research goals.
Conducting Research
Research in the Cain Foundation Laboratories began in 1992. Since that time, the efforts of the faculty and staff have focused on understanding the basic mechanisms that underlie persistent seizures and learning disabilities in children with intractable epilepsy.
Experiments are undertaken in animal models both in vivo and in vitro. Our research findings are closely compared with results from clinical studies of children with neurological disorders. This is accomplished by close interactions between the basic science faculty of the Cain Foundation Laboratories and the clinical faculty at Texas Children's.
Our pediatric neurology research efforts are represented by the projects described within this website. The overall aims of these projects are to provide a better understanding of the neurological processes that contribute to seizures in the developing brain and to develop treatments that will help children affected by these neurological disorders.
Providing Training
An important goal of the professional faculty and staff of the Cain Foundation Laboratories is to provide training and career development for basic scientists interested in the study of neurological disorders in children. This is achieved through formal post-doctoral training programs funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Gordon and Mary Cain Pediatric Neurology Research Foundation.
