October 3, 2023 — A discovery of a mutation in the gene ACTA2 has given researchers, led by Dianna Milewicz, MD, PhD, with UTHealth Houston, insight into understanding the cause of a rare and progressive problem with arteries in the brain and a cause of strokes in young children, called moyamoya disease.  The findings were published today in Nature Cardiovascular Research.  Moyamoya disease is a condition where the arteries going through the neck and into the brain become blocked right when the arteries enter the brain. Moyamoya disease can lead to strokes and seizures. Children only a few months old can suffer a stroke due to the disease. Current treatments are limited to medications to reduce the risk of stroke and surgery to open or bypass blocked arteries.  “This disease is one of the major causes of stroke in children and nobody knows why this happens or why these arteries get clogged,” said Milewicz, senior author of the study and professor and director of the Division of Medical