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What is HPE?

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What is HPE?

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Holoprosencephaly (HPE) is a disorder that affects fetuses during the initial part of intrauterine life — typically within the second month of pregnancy. The defect is caused when the front part of the brain in an embryo, known as the prosencephalon, fails to properly divide into the double lobes of the cerebral hemispheres. The disorder results in a single-lobed brain structure and can cause skull and facial birth defects. HPE affects about 1 in 5,000 to 10,000 live births. Since a very small number of HPE-diagnosed fetuses survive to term — less than five percent — the frequency of HPE may be as high as 1 in 200 or 250 pregnancies. Those that do reach birth, typically do not live for more than six months, although those with less severe abnormalities may go on to live a normal life span. HPE children may be born with a number of symptoms of the defect including: a small head, excessive fluid on the brain, mental retardation, epilepsy or abnormalities of organ systems. In less severe

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