Saliva tests find the risk of deafness in newborns

A simple DNA test with infant saliva may reveal whether a baby is infected with the virus can cause deafness in some cases. DNA tests were simpler and faster than other tests, and helped detect more than 97% of infections, the results of this study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, June 2. in 2011.

" This discovery is really interesting ," says Elizabeth Stehel, a pediatrician, working at the Southwest Medical Center, University of Texas, in Dallas, USA, who is not involved in the study. With a simple test " we will satisfy the wishes of many parents: Will our children be infected with a virus that reduces hearing ."

Cytomegalo virus is a member of the herpes virus family. Although it is a common virus, infection in all subjects is regardless of gender and age and is usually harmless, but infants infected with Cytomegalo virus may be in danger, because the virus causes hearing loss. force in about 10% to 15% of babies infected with Cytomegalo virus. Cytomegalo virus is one of the leading causes of deafness in children .

Once the infant is infected with the cytomegalo virus silently, this baby is completely
may be deaf after a few months or years later. (Illustration)

Tests at the hospital can help detect some infections caused by Cytomegalo virus, in special cases, in babies with severe disabilities. Doctors regularly check all newborn babies for genetic conditions such as sickle cell anemia by sending a dry blood sample to a state central laboratory. However, some hospitals do cytomegalovirus screening tests in all healthy babies, although the cytomegalo virus is currently only present in about 0.5% to 1% of healthy babies.

Researchers at the University of Alabama, in Birmingham, USA, recently discovered that newborn blood tests are often unpredictable if the baby is infected with Cytomegalo. Because, Cytomegalo virus does not always appear in the blood vessels of newborns, according to Suresh Boppana, a pediatrician and an infectious disease researcher at the Medical School, University of UAB, Spain.

But Cytomegalo virus appears stable in the saliva of newborns. In the new study, Suresh Boppana and colleagues at 7 hospitals in the United States conducted saliva tests (twice) of 17,000 newborns in 2008 and 2009, and nearly all of these babies. are all healthy. The scientists compared the simple DNA test with the infant's saliva with the standard test in which the baby's saliva was placed on the developing cells in the lab. These cells are then exposed to an antibody that reacts to the cytomegalo virus. Simple DNA tests help detect all 85 positive cytomegalo virus cases, which are also detected by standard tests, with only a few false positive results.

The researchers then repeated the tests on 17,000 other babies, in addition, using dry saliva samples. Among cases of Cytomegalo virus infection detected by standard tests, simple DNA tests also help detect more than 97% of these cases, with a few false positive results.

" DNA testing with saliva is simple, economical and reliable ," says Watson Bracie, a geneticist working at the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, in Rockville, Md, United period, where funding for this study. Currently, researchers are continuing the project, aiming to test over 100,000 newborn babies.

Screening of neonatal cytomegalo virus "has not been done in a wide range of names. I think this (testing DNA on the infant's saliva) can be automated, then we can test Investing in large numbers of babies "to start, Boppana says - a public health management official at the federal level needs to recognize this idea.

The drug for the treatment of infants with cytomegalo virus infection is still in the experimental stage, acting as a vaccine against cytomegalo virus. And although all babies are tested for deafness at birth, once the baby is quietly infected with cytomegalo, the baby can be deaf after a few months or years later, Stehel said.

" The sooner the chance of hearing loss of newborns is detected, the more opportunities for timely treatment ." Using hearing aids and cochlear implants from a young age can help preserve and develop your baby's hearing, Boppana adds.