Geneticist committed
'to improving the lives
of newborns
INNINGS
Continued from page 8
Meet one of the faces of success
Barry Wolf, M.D., Ph.D., is chair
of Medical Genetics at Henry Ford
Health System.
It's not often that you meet someone
that has made a discovery that can
dramatically improve the lives of
newborns across the world. Yet Dr.
Barry Wolf can make that claim as
the discoverer of biotinidase
deficiency a rare but serious
inherited disorder, he discovered
through his work in medical genetics.
Dr. Wolf has a life-long goal that
all newborns throughout the world
be screened for the deficiency,
which is a metabolic disorder that
can cause seizures, developmental
delay and hearing loss. And he
discovered that the symptoms
associated with the inherited
metabolic disorder can be
prevented or effectively treated by
administering the vitamin, biotin,
to affected newborns.
Newborn screening is crucial
because the diagnosis is easily
overlooked by primary care physi-
cians and genetic specialists. The
disorder affects approximately one
in 6o,000 individuals in the U.S.
"Although administering life-long
vitamin treatment can prevent all
symptoms associated with the
disease, unfortunately some symp-
toms such as hearing loss and
developmental delay are often irre-
versible if not treated early," he
says. "The good news is this simple
treatment is included in the neona-
tal screening programs of more
than 34 states in the U.S. (including
Michigan) and 3o countries." It is
expected that within five years,
screening will be implemented for
all babies born in the U.S.
Dr. Wolf recently traveled to Brazil
to meet with representatives at the
U.S. Embassy, to present informa-
tion to the Senate Committee on
Health of the National Congress of
Brazil and to lecture at several hos-
pital and laboratories including the
meeting of the Society of Newborn
Screening in Sao Paul. He met
with key leaders to discuss imple-
menting and mandating newborn
screening for the disorder through-
For more information or to make an
appointment call i-800-HENRYFORD or
visit our Web site www.henryford.com
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JNPLATINUM
out the country.
Brazil performed
a pilot newborn
screening for
biotinidase defi-
ciency and doc-
tors found that
the disorder is
approximately
three times more
common than in
the U.S. Dr.
Wolf hopes the
program in Brazil will be expanded
to include all newborns throughout
the country.
At Henry Ford, Dr. Wolf plans to
continue his research on bio-
tinidase deficiency, which has been
consistently supported by the
National Institutes of Health and
private donations. He is particular-
ly interested in understanding the
natural history of the disorder and
the role of biotin and biotinidase in
normal hearing and in hearing loss
associated with the deficiency.
Currently, the disorder is the
only known form of preventable
inherited hearing loss.
The "Cars, What Cars?" Award:
Measuring 7 feet in height, the Cadillac girls pose in front of a car that may be a Cadillac,
but who's looking at cars now? Certainly not the 24 photographers who tried to rush onto my space
as I took this shot.
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Auto Display Disguised As A Hotel Lobby:
Maserati Gran Sport
As chair of Medical Genetics, Dr.
Wolf oversees a staff of about 50
genetic specialists. The depart-
ment is involved in the clinical
aspects of genetics as well as diag-
nosing many genetic disorders.
Dr. Wolf is a resident of Bloomfield
Hills and came to Michigan to join
Henry Ford Health System. He has
a long history of community
involvement in the Jewish commu-
nity serving on the advisory com-
mittee of the Richmond Virginia
Jewish Community Center. He has
lectured at the Jewish Community
Center on prevalent genetic disor-
ders prevalent among the Jewish
population including Tay-Sachs
and Gaucher's Disease. He has
also been involved in educational
development of children with
developmental challenges.
Dr. Wolf also plans to continue his
community involvement to raise
awareness of genetic disorders in
the West Bloomfield Community
and greatly expand genetic services
in the area.
Attack Of The Gullwings: Saleen 57 (above), Mercedes SLR McLaren (below)