A study published in the journal Developmental Cell suggests that scientists may be able to treat and prevent cleft lips and cleft palates. Scientists conducting the study were able to identify the role of genes in the development of cleft lip and palate through a study using mice embryos.
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.