October 13, 2006
Columbia, SC 

On October 13, 2006, the Advisory Panel for Newborn Metabolic Screening at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control voted to add screening for Tryosinemia, a deadly inherited disease, to the panel of conditions for which newborns are screened at birth.  This brings South Carolina in line with screening for all 28 metabolic conditions recommended by the March of Dimes.

South Carolina has been screening newborns for rare, silent, treatable diseases, preventing avoidable deaths, severe illness, and mental retardation, since 1965.  In 2004, the state began using a new technology called Tandem Mass Spectroscopy, which was strongly encouraged by the SC March of Dimes state chapter, and their representative on the panel, neonatologist Robert Newell, MD MBA from the Children’s Hospital of Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center.

Dr. Newell explained, “Tyrosinemia screening is very difficult.  The disease has three distinct types, with different symptoms and biochemical findings.  Type I Tryosinemia is particularly deadly, causing rapid liver and kidney failure.  If identified early, illness or death can be prevented by a protein modified diet and medication.  The new screening sequence utilizes two different techniques, testing for blood Succinylacetone (SA) and Tyrosine levels, to determine the possible type and minimize false positive or negative tests.  It is important for parents and pediatricians to realize that these are only screening tests, and an abnormal result does not mean that the baby will be sick.  It does mean that further testing is absolutely essential.”  The methods were recently developed in Quebec, Boston and at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Some states only do partial Tyrosinemia screening for Types II and III, without testing for SA, or do none at all.

“South Carolina is at the forefront of newborn health care, with strong programs in hearing screening, birth defects monitoring, and broad metabolic screening,” said Holly Hayes, MSPH, the Director of Program Services at the SC March of Dimes state chapter office.

Dr. Newell also noted two bills currently before Congress supporting newborn screening:  Senate bill S.3743, the SHINE (Screening for Health of Infants and Newborns) Act, sponsored by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Senator George Allen (R-VA); and S.2663 (The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2006), sponsored by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH).  Both would standardize and support nationwide newborn screening efforts by each state.

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 address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org.

March of Dimes es una organización nacional para la salud sin fines de lucro cuya misión es mejorar la salud de los bebés al prevenir los defectos de nacimiento, el nacimiento prematuro y la mortalidad infantil. Fundada en 1938, March of Dimes financia programas de investigación, servicios comunitarios, educación y defensa para salvar bebés, y en 2003 lanzó una campaña para abordar la incidencia creciente de los nacimientos prematuros. Para más información, visite el sitio web de March of Dimes en marchofdimes.com o su sitio web en español, nacersano.org.