What causes craniosynostosis and who can get it?
In most circumstances, the cause isn’t known. At birth, a baby‘s skull is made up of bony ‘plates’ separated by ‘seams’ or ‘sutures’ similar to those in clothing. The sutures are there to help with moulding of the head during delivery, and play a role in shaping the head as it grows. The sutures eventually fuse, forming a protective ‘helmet’ for the brain – the skull. But in craniosynostosis, a single suture or a number of sutures fuse much earlier than they are supposed to – even weeks or months before a baby is born. This can restrict the growth and development of the brain, as well as the shape of the head. When it affects multiple sutures, it is often associated with a particular syndrome. There are in fact a number of inherited conditions linked with craniosynostosis. These include: • Crouzon’s syndrome • Apert syndrome • Pfeiffer syndrome • Saethre-Chotzen syndrome • Muenke (P250A) syndrome • Cranio-fronto-nasal displasia All of these conditions are the result of a problem with a
