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September is National Newborn Screening Awareness Month

Posted on: Tuesday, 12 September 2006, 09:01 CDT

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- September is National Newborn Screening Awareness Month, and according to the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG), every state should require complete testing of all newborns for a 'core panel' of 29 genetic and congenital conditions. It is estimated that more than a million babies annually are not screened for the full panel of debilitating or life-threatening disorders. In many of these diseases, serious complications such as death or mental retardation are avoidable only through newborn screening, with appropriate follow-up and treatment.

"Better newborn screening programs will save lives and reduce disabilities. Advances in technology have made it possible and feasible to test newborns for a number of serious diseases. During National Newborn Screening Awareness Month, the American College of Medical Genetics strongly encourages each state to adopt the Uniform Panel of Newborn Screening Tests. With the current expansion of newborn screening panels, it is estimated that about 10,000 of the 4.1 million babies born each year in the United States will be identified with a condition for which treatment will have a significant impact on long-term outcome," said Michael S. Watson, PhD, ACMG executive director. It is estimated that disorders detectable through newborn screening affect approximately 1 in every 500 babies born in the USA.

The recently released Newborn Screening report was commissioned by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration and written by the ACMG Newborn Screening Expert Group, which included representatives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, and the Genetic Alliance as well as experts in health policy, law, ethics, public health and consumer advocacy groups. The Report has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and the Genetic Alliance and is an important step toward the development and implementation of nationally recognized newborn screening system standards and practices.

All of the 29 conditions recommended for inclusion in the core screening panel can be identified shortly after birth, but would not ordinarily be detected without testing. For each of the core diseases, an accurate test is currently available, and there are demonstrated benefits of early detection and treatment. Further, ACMG has recently made available to all pediatricians and newborn screening programs in the United States a set of materials (ACT sheets) to guide them through the process of confirming the diagnosis in a baby who has a positive screening test result.

"We need expanded newborn screening in the United States. Newborn screening costs so little and yet can save so much," said M. Rodney Howell, MD, president of the American College of Medical Genetics Foundation. "For many conditions, when newborn screening detects an abnormality, it can make the difference between a healthy life and one that is shortened or requires long-term care."

About the American College of Medical Genetics

Founded in 1991, the American College of Medical Genetics (http://www.acmg.net/) advances the practice of medical genetics and provides education, resources and a voice for 1400 biochemical, clinical, cytogenetic, medical and molecular geneticists, genetic counselors and other health care professionals committed to the practice of medical genetics.

American College of Medical Genetics

CONTACT: Kathy Beal of American College of Medical Genetics,+1-978-853-1810, kathleenbeal@yahoo.com

Web site: http://www.acmg.net/

Source: PRNewswire

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