mear, or genital warts is 12.2 percent. Overall, an estimated 26.8 percent of women aged 14 to 59 in the US have been infected with HPV, though many of them are unaware of it because they have no symptoms. The researchers speculated that even in the absence of symptoms in the pregnant woman, the HPV virus may pass through the placenta.
Erle Robertson, PhD, professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania, who studies tumor virology, told Neurology Today that he doubted that HPV16 is the sole cause of FCDIIB but rather that it is one of a number of factors involved in the disease.
Still, he said, the study underscores how much there remains to be learned about viruses and their role in a wide variety of diseases.
“We are dealing with a huge number of organisms and we're just beginning to understand their connection to human disease and cancer,” Dr. Robertson said.
Dr. Crino said his team plans to study brain tissue from patients with other forms of cortical dysplasia to determine whether HPV16 and related virus strains are present. Another area of potential research, he said, if to see if the mTORC1 signaling pathway, which is activated in focal cortical dysplasia, could be targeted in treatment.
FOR FURTHER READING: