| (Columbia, SC, June 2008)—Laura Goetzl, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, has been awarded a research grant by the March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter. This national research grant is sponsored by Select Health Of South Carolina, Inc. the Premier Prematurity Campaign sponsor for the March of Dimes South Carolina Chapter.
Dr. Goetzl is seeking to develop new ways to help prevent cerebral palsy (CP) in full-term babies. CP is a group of neurological conditions that affect control of movement and posture.
Over the past six decades, 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. Goetzl’s, that aim to prevent or treat specific birth defects and improve the outcome of pregnancy.
Although premature babies are at higher risk of CP than full-term babies, about 50 percent of cases of CP occur in full-term babies. Most cases of CP result from brain damage that occurred before birth. Maternal fever and inflammation resulting from an intrauterine infection are two risk
factors that may contribute to some cases of brain damage. Dr. Goetzl is seeking to develop a screening test that can identify full-term fetuses at special risk of CP due to exposure to fever or inflammatory substances. Such a screening test could allow treatment before and during labor that may help prevent brain damage and cerebral palsy in high-risk fetuses.
Dr. Goetzl has published a number of studies on risk factors in pregnancy. She joined the Medical University of South Carolina in 2004.
Last year, the South Carolina March of Dimes 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.
About March of Dimes
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.
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