Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday. Morch 23 1 9 6
,age T w o T H E MICHIGA,,DAIL7.)u
Sound Factual Information
For People with a Problem
Michigan's Heredity Clinic-Pioneering in Research &
Counseling
By PETE ECKSTEIN solutely certain to be transmitted their leg muscles and were now A thorough medical examina- sound. But to answer her question
THEIR FIRST child may have to a given child. invalids. She was contemplating tion was conducted at University it was necessary to go into the
been born with a harelip. On the other hand the heredi. marriage and was worried not Hospital's Outpatient Clinic, where family history minutely.
An uncle may have experienced tary makeup of the second child only for herself but for her pos- the heredity organization has
complete m e n t a I deterioration is derived from the same parental sible children. space. Mary seemed entirely scHEN POSSIBLE, the Clinic
during his thirties. stock as that of the first. The odds . ,aascertains family histories by
for or against a specific heredi- correspondence. In this case it
A sister may have given birth tary characteristic being trans- seemed more desirable to send one
to a Mongolian idiot, mitted are the same for all child- of the Clinic's two trained social
Whatever the specific reason, ren of the same parents. workers into the field to inter-
thousands of couples every year Given the identical odds, one view members of the family.
are wondering: what are the risks birth does not influence the char- Some recalled a similar diffi-
in having children? acteristics of the next, just as one culty in Mary's maternal grand-
The University's Heredity Clinic flip of a coin in no way influences father, who had died at an early
specializes in answering such the next. age, and medical records confirm-
questions. Last year it gave hun- ed that he had also suffered from
dreds of anxious couples scientific AlANY COUPLES come to the the disease.
information to help thm plan Clinic wondering about a de- The evidence added up to the
their families on the basis of facts, feet believed to be hereditary fact that the defect Mary was
not superstition and rumor. which has occurred in the family concerned over was "sex-linked,"
history. . so-named because it is carried on
HEN A child is born with a The Clinic is often able to give the "X" chromosome, one of the
congenital abnormality," Dr. them a fairly accurate answer- +A' two which determine a baby's sex.
James V. Neel, who is in charge even if they have had no previous Such characteristics are trans-
of the Clinic, explains, "some children-to the important ques- mitted by both men and women,
people feel the next child is cer- tion: what are the odds? ' but usually only manifest them-
tain to be doomed. Others feel A typical case, with details selves in male carriers.
the abnormality is 'out of the changed to preserve anonymity. Mary was told, therefore, that
parents' systems and there is no shows how that answer is often she was in little danger of de-
more danger." sufficient for an informed solu- veloping the disease herself. How-
Neither attitude is correct. Some tion to the problem: ever, the odds were even that she
defects believed to be inherited A young woman, call her Mary ' was a carrier, since her mother
may prove the result of accidental Smith, came to the Clinic with had been one and transmitted the
environmental factors. Few actual this story: two older brothers had DR. JAMES V. NEEL ... to Japan and Africa for defect to her brothers.
hereditary characteristics are ab- developed a wasting disease of a better look at the gene If Mary was a carrier, half her
----- ----- sons might be afflicted. On the
basis of this information, Mary
and her fiance decided to adopt
children. Their two adopted sons
are healthy and normal.
Phone NO 2-5604 T HE HEREDITY CLINIC does
b its work against a formidable
background. Dr. Neel gives "a
214 So. Fourth Ave. very rough estimate" that between
one and three million Americans
suffer from serious inherited de-
fects.
The cause of a particular defect
OPEN DAILY 9 A.M. TO 5:30,P.M.- MONDAY 9 A.M. TO 9 P.M. is not always clear. 'Almost any
trait can in part be influenced by
heredity. Almost all can be alter-
ed by environment," he explained.
z r/f j ++Drawin the line as to just
Don't Miss these out stwidin ' rwn h iea ojs
Dt o nb where hereditary factors end and
environmental ones begin is "as
complex a problem as we have
to wrestle with in biology."
Estimates can be made, how-
SPE IAL -FOR MEN kve eeiists believe, for ix-
ample, that one-half the cases of
blindness and deaf-mutism are at-
-° tributable to hereditary factors.
For some defects the pattern of
inheritance is clear-cut and has
Regular 2.98 \ been ascertained, though it can
never be predicted with certainty
for a given case. These include
certain nervous disorders, some
S f abnormalities of the blood, de-
SH IRTS fects in vision and hearing and -
V 1.9 7variety of imperfections of the
Choice of white or colored. Large selection ofat .-- teeth, hair and nails,
pink. Stock up now at this terrific price. Com- mitted primarily by parents ex-
pare with nationally advertised brands at 3.95. hibiting the characteristics, others
may show up in children with only
a distant, if any, family record for
RE G. $1.50 the disease.
aq BUT IN the bulk of abnormalities
re S in which heredity i a large
P r ikfactor, the exact role of inheri-
PureSlk ~,
1r o^itance is either indefinite or not
Ns U yet clearly understood.
N eckties Schizophrenia, for example, has
, been proven to be 15 times more
" "prevalent among children who
PUR'HASE have a schizophrenic parent than
SPECIA L P C S among those who do not.
y Geneticists are quick to q'alify
such statistics by pointing out
M en's D ress that the individuals studied all
grew up in the home environment
-and living with a schizophrenic
Trousers 6095 Yparent may be as important a
All the new spring shades and styles. These trousers would .factor as being born of one.
Scientists generally agree, how-
usually sell for 9.95. Only a special purchase made this ever, that tendencies toward dia-
low low price possible, betes, some specific types of can-
cer and heart disease, and manic-
WARD'S CARRIES A COMPLETE LINE OF MEN'S SPORT COATS depressive insanity are apt to be
greater among individuals with
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