FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Mullen, Director of Program Services 803-2525-5200 X13
Research on Inherited Blood Condition
Funded by March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter
(Columbia, South Carolina), August 8, 2007—Katherine A. Poehling, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., has been awarded a research grant by the March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter. Dr. Poehling is seeking to determine whether children and adults who inherit one gene for sickle cell anemia (called sickle cell trait) may be at increased risk of certain serious infections. While individuals with sickle cell anemia (who inherit two abnormal genes) are at risk of a number of health problems including pain episodes and serious infections, individuals with sickle cell trait have traditionally been considered as healthy as those who do not carry this gene.
For nearly 70 years, March of Dimes grantees have achieved a remarkable track record of lifesaving breakthroughs for babies. Thirteen of these researchers have won the Nobel Prize. Today’s grantees continue in this tradition of success. Some are conducting basic research into life processes to learn how things normally work as a basis for learning what can go wrong. What is learned from basic research helps pave the way for clinically oriented studies, like Dr. Poehling’s, that aim to prevent or treat specific birth defects and improve the outcome of pregnancy.
About one in 12 African-Americans has sickle cell trait. Dr. Poehling is
investigating whether individuals with sickle cell trait are at increased risk of serious pneumococcal infections, including meningitis, blood infection and pneumonia. Most children are now routinely vaccinated against pneumococcus. While this vaccine is highly effective in preventing these illnesses, new forms of the bacteria continue to emerge that may pose a health threat. This study may further reduce serious pneumococcal infections by targeting at risk children and adults for vaccination.
Dr. Poehling joined Vanderbilt University as an Assistant Professor in 2002.
Michael S. Caplan, MD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare
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Research Institute in Evanston, IL, has been awarded a research grant by the March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter. Dr. Caplan is studying the causes of a serious intestinal disorder that is common in premature infants. About 12.5 percent of babies – more than half a million a year – in the United States are born prematurely (before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy), putting them at increased risk for a number of newborn health complications as well as lasting disabilities.
For nearly 70 years, March of Dimes grantees have achieved a remarkable track record of lifesaving breakthroughs for babies. Thirteen of these researchers have won the Nobel Prize. Today’s grantees continue in this tradition of success. Some are conducting basic research into life processes to learn how things normally work as a basis for learning what can go wrong. What is learned from basic research helps pave the way for clinically oriented studies, like Dr. Caplan’s, that aim to prevent or treat specific birth defects and improve the outcome of pregnancy.
Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a poorly understood intestinal disorder that affects about 10 percent of premature babies weighing less than 3 ½ pounds. Up to 30 percent of affected babies die, and many survivors are left with severe chronic intestinal problems. Dr. Caplan is investigating how interaction among several factors, including bacteria, lack of oxygen, and formula feeding, may trigger an inflammatory response in the intestine, leading to injury. The goal of this research is to devise ways to prevent or treat this important killer of premature infants.
Dr. Caplan, who is the author of many studies on NEC, joined Northwestern University in 1989.
Last year, the South Carolina March of Dimes chapter invested more than $4.2 million in program services, including research grants and local community services.Through these grants, the March of Dimes is seeking ways to prevent birth defects and infant death, reduce South Carolina’s increasing premature birth rate, increase access to prenatal care and educate men and women about having healthy babies.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to reduce the rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish Web language site at nacersano.org.
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