Children with Rare, Debilitating Brain Diseases Suffer From Mutations in a Little-Known Protein Complex (opens in new tab)

Thousands of times per year, a family’s moment of joy turns to unexpected grief. A seemingly healthy infant stops smiling or making eye contact. Their limbs grow weak. The tiny child suffers seizures and breathing problems.Jawdat Al-Bassam, an associate professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis, often hears from these families. “I’ve gotten emails from folks all over the world,” he said.