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New Born Screening
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The Genesis
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  New Born Screening - The Genesis  
     
  Prof. Suresh always has his priority for community needs. When public screening was the need of the hour and a trust offered donation, he utilised it for initiating a pilot project on New Born Screening. Nearly 1000 new babies born at Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Egmore, Chennai were screened for Hypothyroidism, the most common preventable cause of mental impairment in children.  
     
  Simultaneously New Born Screening was inaugurated by MediScan in the private sector in 2008.  
     
 

FCRF mediated study was well acknowledged by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and it paved the way for the same centre to be selected as the Regional co-ordinating centre for South India in a multi-centric project. ICMR mediated NBS on Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) and Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)  with High Risk Screening was launched in June 2008. Prof. Suresh as Principal Investigator, Dr. Sujatha Jagadeesh as co-investigator with Dr. Sudha Rathna Prabhu as research scientist completed the project successfully in May 2012. Institute of Obstetrics & Gynaecology served as the main samples collection centre along with RSRM, Government KGH Hospitals, AMS and Railways, Perambur as contributing sample centres.

 
     
   
     
  The project study results were announced officially in the final meet and workshop held at Voluntary Health Services, Adyar, Chennai on 15th and 16th of March 2013 hosted by Prof. Suresh.  
     
  The study results revealed high incidence of 1 in 900 babies affected with CH and for CAH result was 1 in 2000. This has thrown light on an important message to the country. Screening and early detection of CH will save every one neonate out of 900 babies from becoming mentally impaired. Female babies diagnosed with CAH much later without screening in place may grow with external gender confusions and other associated social stigmata.  
     
  With all justifications for mandatory new born screening a comprehensive genetic lab is created in Chennai since 2009 with prenatal, perinatal and neonatal screening services at MediScan in association with Perkin Elmer Lab.  
     
  All existing lab services for prenatal and postnatal chromosomal analysis, prenatal aneuploidy screening and new-born diagnoses are merged with associate , a state of the art genetic lab in Tamil Nadu  
     
   
     
  Presently at Chennai, Dr. Mehta’s Children Hospitals and St. Isabel's have been enrolled and many more will be added.