Yale scientists are investigating PDA, a congenital heart defect common in premature infants.
“The disease is caused by a defect in a region of brain that is called the neural crest. This part of the brain appears transiently and is important because cells in this region behave like stem cells and contribute to the skull, bone, and cartilage of the face and most importantly the heart,” said Arya Mani, MD, a professor of medicine and genetics at the Yale School of Medicine and senior author of a recent study of PDA.