Current projects
CLEFT funds research into the unanswered questions regarding cleft lips and palates: Why do they occur? How can we best treat them? Could they ever be prevented? 75% of CLEFT's funds are spent on research with the remaining 25% funding our work overseas. We aim to push the boundaries of conventional treatment by funding research into improving operating techniques and by looking at the underlying reasons for cleft deformities.
Trying to improve the quality of the surgery by understanding what the muscles of the soft palate do: The first ever study of the muscles of the soft palate
We believe that this anatomy is more complicated than
t appears and each muscle functions differently.
Research in the UK has shown that across the country about 25% of children having repair of cleft palate require further surgery because the palate is not long enough and/or mobile enough to close off the palate against the back of the throat. This means that air escapes during speech and children often develop abnormal speech patterns as they try to compensate. The North Thames Cleft team has pioneered the use of the operating microscope for cleft palate repair and has improved on these results but there is still progress to be made. There are many gaps in our knowledge of the anatomy and function of the soft palate muscles.
Dr Leila Res is nearing the end of the first year of her 3 year PhD project studying the anatomy and function of the soft palate muscles which are vital for speech. She and Brian Sommerlad have begun some anatomical dissections and she is about to extend the project to include a microscopic study of the muscles and possibly to become involved in some stem cell research, which may enable weak palate muscles to be augmented. She will also be working with Dr Malcolm Birch at The Royal London Hospital on MRI examination of the palate muscles. It is hoped that this work will lead to improvements in techniques for cleft palate repair and for the management of patients who have speech problems after palate repair.
This is a 3 year project, which has the potential to improve the quality of results following palate repair in our own centre and with the resulting information also being passed on to centres throughout the world.
22q11 study
Anne Mayne, speech therapist, has started a study on the problems of social adaptation experienced by some people with the 2q1 deletion syndrome, who make up a significant proportion of the patients in our cleft lip and palate investigation clinics. People with this syndrome have a small amount of genetic material missing, resulting in a variety of physical and behavioural disorders. It affects approximately 1 in 4,000 people so it is very common. CLEFT is funding the first year of this project, which may develop into a 3 year PhD project.