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 1 () • I Eli RI' Alt) 2.,),)6 • 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. 411 _ 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)