Paelo Manalo
Dr. Aida Metzenberg
BIOL 241
April 3, 2016
Hear Them Out
The first few weeks of pregnancy are the most critical time any complications that can happen to the embryo; most birth defects occur during this time frame. Anotia and Microtia (AM) are birth defects diagnosed when a baby is born. Anotia and Microtia are almost similar diseases. The treatment depends on the severity of the disease and how the ear is formed.
The diagnosis for the disease is noticeable at birth however the disease usually develops during the first few weeks of pregnancy. The ear is made up of three different parts; they are the outer, middle, and inner ear. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s article “Facts about Anotia/Microtia,” Anotia …show more content…
Researchers are having a hard time of gathering statistics in the United States on the disease because of its severity ranging from mild to severe. Due to this problem, researchers have been using birth defects tracking systems to gather some results. The system has estimated from less than 1 in 10,000 live births for Microtia, type 1 to type 3, to 5 in 10,000 live births for Anotia. In the 80’s a lot of researchers were trying to figure out if the birth defect is a genetic disease or a complication during pregnancy however they could not find a link between the two until the 21st century. The article “BIRTH DEFECT RISK FACTOR SERIES: Anotia and Microtia” confirms that multiple studies from the year 2000 to 2005, have found that Hispanics and Asians are more likely to give birth to babies that have microtia and anotia. The article also states, “Several studies in South America have found increased risk of microtia/anotia at higher elevations” (Texas Department of State Health Services) Another article, “Microtia-Anotia: A Global Review of Prevalence Rates” by Daniela Luquetti, Emanuele Leoncini, and Perpaolo Mastroiacovo suggests that “Higher prevalence was observed in the Americas, Northern Europe and Asia, among Hispanics and Asians, and among active ascertainment and hospital-based surveillance programs.” (Luquetti et. al.) Luquetti and her fellow researchers suggest that the complete frequency for both microtia and anotia is 2.06% while microtia alone is 1.55% and 0.36% for anotia. The study supports a new coding system that not only lets complete phenotype of AM to be categorized, including severity and laterality, but also helps with any future studies on the range of frequency related to race, gender, and ethnicity. As for now, there is no known, recorded association with the risk of having the birth defect with the mother’s age, the baby’s sex,
Dr. Aida Metzenberg
BIOL 241
April 3, 2016
Hear Them Out
The first few weeks of pregnancy are the most critical time any complications that can happen to the embryo; most birth defects occur during this time frame. Anotia and Microtia (AM) are birth defects diagnosed when a baby is born. Anotia and Microtia are almost similar diseases. The treatment depends on the severity of the disease and how the ear is formed.
The diagnosis for the disease is noticeable at birth however the disease usually develops during the first few weeks of pregnancy. The ear is made up of three different parts; they are the outer, middle, and inner ear. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s article “Facts about Anotia/Microtia,” Anotia …show more content…
Researchers are having a hard time of gathering statistics in the United States on the disease because of its severity ranging from mild to severe. Due to this problem, researchers have been using birth defects tracking systems to gather some results. The system has estimated from less than 1 in 10,000 live births for Microtia, type 1 to type 3, to 5 in 10,000 live births for Anotia. In the 80’s a lot of researchers were trying to figure out if the birth defect is a genetic disease or a complication during pregnancy however they could not find a link between the two until the 21st century. The article “BIRTH DEFECT RISK FACTOR SERIES: Anotia and Microtia” confirms that multiple studies from the year 2000 to 2005, have found that Hispanics and Asians are more likely to give birth to babies that have microtia and anotia. The article also states, “Several studies in South America have found increased risk of microtia/anotia at higher elevations” (Texas Department of State Health Services) Another article, “Microtia-Anotia: A Global Review of Prevalence Rates” by Daniela Luquetti, Emanuele Leoncini, and Perpaolo Mastroiacovo suggests that “Higher prevalence was observed in the Americas, Northern Europe and Asia, among Hispanics and Asians, and among active ascertainment and hospital-based surveillance programs.” (Luquetti et. al.) Luquetti and her fellow researchers suggest that the complete frequency for both microtia and anotia is 2.06% while microtia alone is 1.55% and 0.36% for anotia. The study supports a new coding system that not only lets complete phenotype of AM to be categorized, including severity and laterality, but also helps with any future studies on the range of frequency related to race, gender, and ethnicity. As for now, there is no known, recorded association with the risk of having the birth defect with the mother’s age, the baby’s sex,