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Show ts a mm a By ORLANDO J. MILLER, M. D. Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Lecturer Columbia-Presbyteria- n In fret e we ftwt Genetics, ee S Medical Center, New York Jr, "B" be able to reduce the chances of cellu- lar growth getting off track during a baby's development Consider cleft palate again. Two New Jersey doctors, Lyon P. Strean, and 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 te child probably will have no future trouble. But what of the Jbaby whose heart did nqtdevelop properly? surgery is. The cleft-pala- te 20 years ago, he faced death UNTILincapacitation. Then Dr. Rob- ert Gross performed an operation 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 this an inherited defect? Or did some agent thwart na- ture 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 congenital defects result from a combin 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 aberrations (a breakdown of the chromosome, which helps pass on parents' charaeteristicsrby-nongene-ti- c causes radiation would be one example), and another 10 percent from virus infection. The thalidomide tragedies how more than one factor is in a deformed birth. You recall headlines about deformed babies being born to many mothers who took the drug, but what probably involved we overlooked is that deformities occurred only among 20 percent of thalidomide mothers. Whydid most of them bear normal children? One guess is that the drug alone did not bination of the drug and other y 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 because we know that at least one virus can adversely influence development of the embryo and may lead to abortion. In 191, Dr. N. M. Gregg of Australia first proved that German measles, contracted during the first three months of pregnancy, produced heart malformations, cataracts, deafness, and 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 a tremendous amount of work to be done on this development, but some hope is offered for a vaccine which would immunize child-beariagainst German measles. Are there other anomaly-producin- g ng I-- women 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 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 years later, five mongoloids were born in the same suburb within k a area. This is no more than a beginning, of course, but if borne out by other studies, we could hope to isplate the harmful virus somedayrtheirtrjr to develop an "an- iimongoloid vaccine." K aa v a s r.. Put it in the very special care of e hospital-proved Dermassage.the tm e lotion that relieves professional-typa M M e excessive drynessasf Dermassage helps heal weather-irritateskin gently soothes and comforts tender, itching skin. Great for massaging tense, aching muscles, too! Wear your skin soft, cloth-ingchaf- d, smooth and ed supple... get Dermassage lotion. aM MM S s MEDICATED loennassanei 8KIN LOTION U S -- a" rrci I 55 I M I T(nM supr.uniSTiii7iNa al- phenylketonuria (PKU). In PKU, the liver fails to produce an enzyme" whTch acts on phenylala nine. 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 been developed. It uses a few drops of blood from the baby's heel to diagnose the disorder. Last summer, the U.S. Children's Bureau began a screening of this test on 400,000 newborns, with expectations that it will permit earlier treatment of PKU and other metabolic disorders. Among the metabolic disorders ( Continued on page 14 ) X If backache and tymptonutic pains in joints and muscles make i yon feel miserable and tired, try world- - I famous De Witt's Pills for their positive I analgesic action. 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