On Tuesday (2), regional deputies approved a draft law (PL) that expands the scope of the heel prick test performed in the public network.
By agreement, the text, written by parliamentarian Eduardo Pedrosa (Uniao Brasil), specifies that newborn screening – a mandatory test that identifies metabolic, hereditary, infectious and immunological diseases in the first days of life – will now include a search for two more diseases: hypogammaglobulinemia or hypogammaglobulinemia and adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD).
Gammaglobulinemia is a primary immunodeficiency caused by a mutation in a gene on the
Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a rare genetic disease that mostly affects men. Symptoms usually appear only a few years after birth, usually at the beginning of school life, and can include dementia, loss of vision and hearing, motor difficulties, and adrenal insufficiency.
For Eduardo Pedrosa, the modernization seeks to “promote early detection and timely treatment,” as well as increase the number of diseases tracked and reduce costs to the public health system through preventive interventions.
After the project was evaluated by the CLDF plenary session, it now goes to the head of the local executive authority for approval.