| Show Family Weekly j March 10 ms s ts By ORLANDO J let MM MILLER M D S Aisittant Profcuor of Obttetrta and Gynecology ond Lecturer in Genetics n Medical Center New York &' Columbia-Presbyteria- wilh )ack Ryan be able to reduce thehances lar growth getting '14' v :V 'r- -- track during Consider cleft palate again Two New Jersey doctors Lyon P Strean-an- d Lyndon A Peer made a study children of mothers of cleft-palaMost had suffered some illness or emotional disturbance and in each case at a stage of pregnancy when the palate forms Could these stresses have caused the mothers' adrenal gland to produce extra hydrocortisone which in turn retarded normal formation of the baby's palate? The doctors injected female mice with cortisone and other agents in heavy dosage The mice produced offspring with cleft palates In the next experiment the same agents were introduced into the female mice — but while the offsprings' palates were forming the mice also received vitamins B6 B12 and C This time no cleft palates Had the vitamins countered the original agents? If so would it be practical to give these vitamins to an expectant mother who suffers illness at a stage of pregnancy when the palate forms? No preventive has come out of this experiment but it shows the direction research is taking in trying to learn what causes abnormalities and how to reduce them This is important because we are not sure how permanent corrective child surgery is The cleft-palaprobably will have no future trouble But what of the baby whose heart did not develop properly? te erd—- - - : i 4 fj ' "ii - i±- MLiJc-- L ' lift ijlC - -- ' l " I ri-H'- -- t r t'MWfrfa lAfr ir h x r 20 en uross - :MffiK mMf vii:-a-- ) e happy just f Family Weefcly March 1963 r 1 i Isabel told me "in this place where I feel which helps pass on thalidomide tragedies how more than one factor is de-form- Rob- - in upcianvit on an infant's heart closing off a malformed duct that was shunting blood from its normal circulatory route From that pioneering effort surgeons have advanced until they now probe the heart itself mending nature's mistakes while machines take over the job of circulating blood But if the heart had developed correctly there would be less question of its enduring in adolescence and adulthood Was thw an inherited defect? Or did some agent thwart nature— a drug the mother took something awry in her body chemistry or a virus infection? In 60 percent of the cases we don't know what caused the anomalies although scientists believe most result from a combin- penoriiieu-a- cts " am chromosome probably involved in a deformed birth You recall headlines about babies being born to many mothers who took the drug but what we overlooked is that deformities occurred only among 20 percent of thalidomide mothers Why did most of them bear normal children? One guess is that the drug alone did not cause the deformity It was a combination of the drug and other factors While we grope toward those "other factors" initial research has provided young women with a guide for reducing the risk of bearing deformed children Abnormalities develop in the first three months of pregnancy with the first six weeks most vital so obviously a woman should be under a doctor's care as early in pregnancy as possible She will be advised to avoid such anomaly risks as X rays of the pelvic region certain drugs and high altitudes Some doctors may suggest immunization against influenza be- years ago he faced death UNTILincapacitation Then Dr (a breakdown of the parents' characteristics by nongene-ti- c causes — radiation would be one example) and another 10 percent from virus infection te liM5p aberrations The WjM J my ation of causes Are parents largely to blame for the defects? Sometimes they think so yet there is little scientific basis for this feeling Only 20 percent of abnormalities have been traced to inherited factors Ten percent probably come from chromosome of cellu- a baby's development - ' off 3 ed cause we know that at least one virus can adversely influence development of the embryo and may lead to abortion In 1941 Dr N M Gregg of -- Australia first proved that German measles contracted during the first three months of pregnancy produced heart malformations cataracts deafness an other defects in the child Despite such evidence doctors could do little but warn expectant mothers of the risk of infection Perhaps they will do more in the future Just last year American scientists succeeded in isolating the elusive virus that causes German measles Evidence indicates that 90 percent of those infected develop neutralizing antibodies to the virus There is sl tremendous amount of work to be dorte on this development but some hope is offered for a vaccine which would immunize child-bearin- women g a against German measles Are there other viruses? Last year Australian doctors found indications that mongolism which results from the presence of an extra chromosome may be caused by a virus For 16 years they kept records of mongoloid births and the pattern typified those associated with viral epidemics Mongoloid births clustered more in urban areas where anomaly-produci- 'I ng s s if 5 3 0 s s Put it In the very speca care of x there is more personal contact and they increased in number at certain times — one Melbourne suburb averaged one or two mongoloids a year then in 1944 seven were born in seven months four in the same week and area living within a quarter-mil- e Fifteen yetrs later five mongoloids were born in the same suburb within area This is no more a half-bloc- k than a beginning of course but if borne out by other studies we could hope to isolate the harmfuj virus someday then try to develop an "an-timongol- X oid Dermassage the lotion that relieves excessive dry nessasf Dermassage hospital-prove- d professional-typ- e helps heal hafed smooth and supple MBDICATIO s f -- mi - mn Try OERMASSAGE SKIN CREAM g5l it liqwfws More four eyes! just apply H MM M Signifi- MJ M life-buildi- ng been developed It uses a few drops of blood from the baby's heel to di- agnose the disorder Last summer the US Children's Bureau began a screening of this test on 400000 newborns with expectations that it will permit earlier treatment of PKU and other metabolic disorders Among the metabolic disorders (Continued on page 14) 4 10 1963 lotion!! a al- cant successes for example have been achieved with metabolic disorders A Swedish mother with two healthy children loses her newborn and nobody knows why But she recalls an uncommon odor to the baby's diapers and from that slim clue eventually evolves treatment for phenylketonuria (PKU) In PKU the liver fails to produce an enzyme which acts on phenylalanine When unconverted this amino acid gets into the blood stream with poisonous effects That clue in Sweden led to the first forward step a "green diaper" test which alerted doctors to the defect Next came the development of a diet low in phenylalanine which saved the afflicted baby's life but because the diaper test lost vital time it was sometimes administered too late to prevent serious brain damage Obviously the next step was to find a quicker test One has recently Family Weekly March SKIN s 1 ready born with afflictions get Oermassage lotion 83 Meanwhile skin— gently soothes and comforts tender itchingskin Great for massaging tense aching muscles tool Wear your skin soft vaccine" other scientists on helping those clothing-c- weather-irritate- d 13 a e ea M M S a a m B If backache and symptomatic pains in joints and muscles make you feel miserable and tired try world- famous De Wilt's Pills for their positive analgesic action Besides bringing fast palliative relief of pain De Witt's Fills 1 use mild diuretic action to ncip 1 your system dear out acid wastes left I by sluggish kidneys De Witt's Kills 1 can relieve backache miseries and 1 help you lead a more active life Jmm aa lymtm j ii nnnn B a N aaa B a aa — -- -- Dr Scholl'a iiiiiimu ynpii ' j lp ® yy - ICf i — i Zino-pad- s ' speedily relieve painful pressure on sensitive spot soothe and cushion it Enjoy real relief as millions do with Dr Scholl's — world's largest - selling aid for Bunions! mmvM B m - — BUY UNITED STATES SAVINGS BONDS train Mtgs et COtta BATHTUBS rOTS-TH- E SMKS FLOORS MCTMS AUTO BUMPERS £E IrvrJ IrJOlAJUULUn |
