American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) 59th Annual Clinical Meeting

This coverage is not sanctioned by, nor a part of, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

From Medscape Medical News

Preterm Birth, Complications Related to Cerebral Palsy Reduced
Alice Goodman
Authors and Disclosures

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May 3, 2011 (Washington, DC) — New approaches to preventing preterm birth and related complications were discussed by Roberto J. Romero, MD, here at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) 59th Annual Clinical Meeting. In particular, Dr. Romero highlighted studies of cutting-edge technology that may lead to an approach for the prevention of cerebral palsy. Read the full story

The Pregnancy and Perinatology Branch (PPB) of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is very pleased to inform that three new Funding Opportunity Announcements on Neonatal Hypoglycemia have been published. The links to each are below.

These announcements were the result of 2008 workshop on the topic at PPB, and the summary published in the Journal of Pediatrics (Hay et al J Pediatr. 2009;155:612-7). Please encourage extramural scientists interested in this topic to consider submission of applications in response to these announcements.

Although not RFAs (see below the picket fence for the implications of this statement), through these announcements NICHD is letting the community know of our keen interest in stimulating research in this under-studied field.

1.     Studies in Neonatal Hypoglycemia (R01) <http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-053.html> (PA-11-053) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Application Receipt Date(s): Multiple dates, see announcement.

2.     Studies in Neonatal Hypoglycemia (R03) <http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-054.html> (PA-11-054) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development  Application Receipt Date(s): Multiple dates, see announcement.

3.     Studies in Neonatal Hypoglycemia (R21) <http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-055.html> (PA-11-055) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development  Application Receipt Date(s): Multiple dates, see announcement.

John W. Kluge, former foundation president and chair of the board of directors, passed away on Tuesday, September 7 at his family home in Charlottesville , VA at the age of 95. Mr. Kluge was champion for cerebral palsy and related brain disorders research. CPIRF President James C. Stearns noted “John Kluge served CPIRF for many years as a board member, including as its President. He gave tirelessly of his time and was generous in his financial contributions. His memory will live on through the many programs he supported which benefitted the lives of children and adults with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.” CPIRF wishes to express our sincerest condolences and sympathies to the Kluge family and many friends.

Ms. Jacqueline Carmosino has been hired as Manager of Administration for CPIRF, having joined CPIRF on June 1, 2010. Jackie has extensive experience in both the non profit and private sectors, having served in executive administrative capacities for the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) and Autism Speaks, Inc. for the past 8 years after having spent over 25 years working in Summit Bank executive offices.

Jackie is based with CEO Glenn R. Tringali in our new office at 186 Princeton Hightstown Road, Building 4, 2nd Floor; Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 which opened on June 1, 2010. The Princeton Junction location will be the CPIRF headquarters and eventually the sole operating office once we complete the transitional process of closing our Washington, DC office on or before September, 2010. (NOTE: Donor contributions and billing inquiries will continue to be processed through our Washington, DC office until such time.)

The Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation (CPIRF) Board of Directors is pleased to welcome and announce the appointment of Mr. Glenn R. Tringali as Chief Executive Officer effective April 13, 2010. Since 1975, Mr. Tringali has spent his entire professional career in the nonprofit community, having held senior administrative and fund development positions with some of the country’s most prominent health agencies, including the March of Dimes, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and Autism Speaks. “We are delighted to have the expertise and experience of Glenn to help lead our efforts at CPIRF going forward” said Paul Volcker, Chairman of CPIRF.

Most recently, Mr. Tringali was the Chief Development Officer at the Cancer Research Institute and from 2001-2008, previously served the autism community, first as CEO of the National Alliance for Autism Research prior to leading the organization’s successful merger with Autism Speaks in February, 2006 where he was named Executive Vice President.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to be joining the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation. The national and global research and education programs we are funding are critically important. With an estimated 1 million children and adults with CP in our country, the need for supporting our efforts has never been greater”.

CPIRF is the nation’s preeminent private organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of Cerebral Palsy and related developmental disorders. In its fifty-five year history, CPIRF has provided more than $50 million to support research and educational activities in the biomedical and clinical sciences.

Dr. Stephen Fausti receives Jerger Career Award for Auditory Research

The American Academy of Audiology honored Dr. Stephen Fausti with the Jerger Career Award for his distinguished career in audiology research during their conference in San Diego on April 15. Dr. Fausti is the Director of the Portland VA Medical Center’s (VAMC) National Center for Auditory Rehabilitative Research (NCRAR) and a member of the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Council. Please CLICK HERE to read more.

The Today Show featured a segment on cerebral palsy and robotic therapy. The segment showed footage from CPIRF’s project at Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY featuring upper extremity robotic therapy and from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago where we held a joint workshop on ‘Transformational Technologies’, to get the research community interested in using technologies shown to be effective in stroke rehabilitation for use in cerebral palsy therapy. Additionally, Meredith Vieira interviewed Dr. Nancy Synderman about the increasing prevalence of CP, the reasons why, and new therapies on the horizon.

Please find below a link to the Today Show website that contains the CP segment aired this morning.

Click Here to watch the Today Show Segment!

Stay tuned for our posting of the video segment!

CPIRF will award $30,000 to Dr. Yvonne Wu of the University of California at San Francisco and William M. Gilbert, MD at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, to study factors associated with the occurrence of CP in term infants. Much of this funding was raised from CPIRF’s Power Heroes Gala held last year in Los Angeles.

Her previous work found that black ethnicity is associated with a 40% increased risk of CP among term and near-term infants. In a follow up study, Wu et al confirmed her earlier finding of increased risk of CP among black infants, although the relative risk did not reach statistical significance as in the previous study. These findings are consistent with research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control. They found a higher prevalence of cerebral palsy in black 8-year old children as compared to other racial groups in three different geographical areas of the country: metropolitan Atlanta, Northern Alabama and Southeastern Wisconsin . The prevalence of CP was highest among 8 year old black children in all three regions and was 30% higher overall than the prevalence found in white non-Hispanic children.

Drs. Wu and Gilbert are going to use a database maintained by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) of California. This database contains 10 years of birth certificate information from the whole state of California and is linked with another database maintained by the California Department of Developmental Services that contains all diagnoses of cerebral palsy in the same time period. She will test the following hypotheses: 1) Infants born to black mothers experience an increased risk of cerebral palsy that is only partially explained by increased rates of prematurity and other potential confounders; and 2) Infants born to mothers of Hispanic origin demonstrate a lower risk of cerebral palsy. Dr Wu hopes to complete her study by the end of next year.

The Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology  Supplement on “Adults with CP workshop” is now available. Please go to this link to download entire content:

The Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology  Supplement on “Adults with CP workshop”

Dr. Mindy Aisen gave a plenary talk at the 63rd AACPDM Annual Meeting on September 26th in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her talk was entitled ‘ Updating Research Priorities for Cerebral Palsy’.

Download her Power Point Presentation here.
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