As more patients participate in our research, we continue to learn more about the genetics and environmental factors associated with cleft lip and palate in Kuwait. The research sponsored by the Kuwait Foundation of the Advancement of sciences and lead by Dr. Lateefa alkharafi is ending its first phase of specimen collection, and head toward the second phase of finding associations and drawing conclusions.
The blood withdrawn as the sample continue to increase in size is being analyzed at the Kuwait University Laboratories, Faculty of Sciences, while interviews are still being conducted at the Ministry of Health clinics to find environmental factors that might increase the risk of the occurrence of oral clefts, such as the mother’s diet during the first few month of pregnancy and certain vitamin deficiencies. The finding of this study will be published in scientific journals as it is one of the first in Kuwait and the region.
