On the Horizon for Syndromic Craniosynostosis in Children

• Genetic studies: Genetic studies in the field of craniosynostosis will continue to reveal new targets for surgical and nonsurgical treatment and drive the exploration of new technologies.
• Improved knowledge of pathophysiology of craniosynostosis: The development of nonsurgical treatment modalities for syndromic craniosynostosis may ultimately provide a complement, or possibly an alternative, to the invasive surgical interventions currently in use. The systematic analysis of the pathogenic mechanisms involved in syndromic craniosynostosis will be helpful in designing and implementing these new treatment strategies.

Pharmacolical, Genetic, and Other Nonsurgical Treatment Strategies

• Tyrosine kinase inhibition: Pharmacological treatment of Crouzon syndrome with tyrosine kinase inhibition has been reported to be successful in a mouse model, and further studies are under way to develop an in vivo treatment protocol. It is hoped that this will lead to the development of drugs capable of blocking premature fusion of sutures (45).
• Molecular inhibition of FGFR pathway: Small molecule inhibitors designed to target the aberrant FGFR pathway are now under investigation for the treatment of syndromic craniosynostosis (46).