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Previous research has reported on the development trajectory of the corpus callosum morphology. However, there have been only a few studies that have included data on infants. The goal of the present study was to examine the morphology of the corpus callosum in healthy participants of both sexes, from infancy to early adulthood. We sought to characterize normal development of the corpus callosum and possible sex differences in development. We performed a morphometric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of 114 healthy individuals, aged 1 month to 25 years old, measuring the size of the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum was segmented into seven subareas of the rostrum, genu, rostral body, anterior midbody, posterior midbody, isthmus and splenium. Locally weighted regression analysis (LOESS) indicated significant non-linear age-related changes regardless of sex, particularly during the first few years of life. After this increase, curve slopes gradually became flat during adolescence and adulthood in both sexes. Age of local maximum for each subarea of the corpus callosum differed across the sexes. Ratios of total corpus callosum and genu, posterior midbody, as well as splenium to the whole brain were significantly higher in females compared with males. The present results demonstrate that the developmental trajectory of the corpus callosum during early life in healthy individuals is non-linear and dynamic. This pattern resembles that found for the cerebral cortex, further suggesting that this period plays a very important role in neural and functional development. In addition, developmental trajectories and changes in growth do show some sex differences.

Rabies is a fatal encephalitis caused by rabies virus (RABV), and no antiviral drugs for RABV are currently available. We report for the first time the efficacy of favipiravir (T-705) against RABV in vitro and in vivo. T-705 produced a significant, 3–4 log10 reduction in the multiplication of street and fixed RABV strains in mouse neuroblastoma Neuro-2a cells, with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 32.4 µM and 44.3 µM, respectively. T-705 significantly improved morbidity and mortality among RABV-infected mice when orally administered at a dose of 300 mg/kg/day for 7 days, beginning 1 hour after inoculation. T-705 significantly reduced the rate of virus positivity in the brain. Furthermore, the effectiveness of T-705 was comparable to that of equine rabies virus immunoglobulin for postexposure prophylaxis. Collectively, our results suggest that T-705 is active against RABV and may serve as a potential alternative to rabies immunoglobulin in rabies postexposure prophylaxis.

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