The scientists said they figured out how to correct cleft lip and cleft palate in specially engineered mice by altering a specific type of molecule.

Study author Dr. Licia Selleri, an associate professor of cell and developmental biology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, said this is the first time that the defect has been corrected.

“This is a very provocative result because it opens a completely new avenue of strategies for tissue repair,” Dr. Selleri said in a medical college news release.

Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common types of birth defects in the U.S. Infants born with one or both of these oral and facial abnormalities usually require a multiple surgeries before achieving normal appearance and speech.

(Source: U.S. News)

If your baby is born with cleft lip, cleft palate or another type of birth defect, you may be eligible to seek and recover compensation to pay for the cost of surgery and other treatments. To learn more, please contact a birth defect lawyer today.

A lawsuit was filed Nov. 4 on behalf of eight different couples who claim that Zoloft® caused their infants to suffer birth defects. The lawsuit names Pfizer, the manufacture of the antidepressant, as a defendant.

According to an article published in The Madison St. Clair Record, the plaintiffs allege that the only reason they took Zoloft® during their pregnancies is because they believed it was safe.

Some of the birth defects named in the lawsuit include heart defects, gastroschisis, omphalocele, craniosynostosis, neural tube defects, cleft lip, club foot, anal atresia and limb reduction defects.

“Pfizer knew or should have known that Zoloft® crosses the placenta, which could have important implications for the developing fetus,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims that Pfizer failed to adequately warn about the risks involved with taking Zoloft® while pregnant, even though it knew of the dangers.

Zoloft® belongs to a class of medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRIs have been accused of increasing the risk of various birth defects in infants whose mothers take them while pregnant since 2005.

(Source: The Madison St. Clair Record)

If your baby is born with a birth defect and you took Zoloft® during your pregnancy because you thought it was safe, you might be eligible to pursue damages by filing a birth defect lawsuit. To learn more, please contact our birth defect lawyers today.

A Depakote® birth defect lawsuit was filed Oct. 17 on behalf of a woman who claims her daughter developed spina bifida because she took Depakote® during her pregnancy. Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that occurs during the first trimester.

According to the suit, Rhealyn Alexander was prescribed Depakote® during her first trimester to treat a seizure disorder. The suit claims that taking Depakote&rg; caused Alexander’s daughter to develop spina bifida.

The suit names Abbott Laboratories as a defendant in the case, arguing that the drug manufacturer failed to alert consumers and health care providers about the dangerous risks associated with taking Depakote® during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Depakote® (valproic acid) is prescribed to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder and is used to prevent migraine headaches.

If your baby is born with spina bifida or another birth defect and you took Depakote® during your pregnancy, you might be eligible to file a birth defect lawsuit. To learn more, contact our birth defect lawyers today.