The weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal included an article calling attention to the fact that many people who carry genes for particular diseases can be affected in unexpected ways. The article noted an increased incidence of Parkinson’s disease among carriers for Gaucher and frequent neurodegenerative problems among carriers for fragile X syndrome.
According to the article:
When people learn they are carriers for a genetic disease, doctors usually focus on the potential risk of having a child with the disorder. But, increasingly, researchers are finding that being a carrier itself can lead to serious health problems. Although genetic diseases are rare, “we’ve got millions of people out there who are carriers,” says R. Rodney Howell, chairman of the federal Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children.
Source: WSJ (subscription required or search via Google to read the full text)
COMMENTS
As I’m a carrier of the cystic fibrosis gene can I find out if my health may suffer as a result from any research findings as suggested by the article tagged with cystic fibrosis — posted by GDF in Disease News on 17/2/2010
We recommend that you speak with your primary care doctor to learn more about possible health effects. You may also want to contact the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for additional information at http://www.cff.org.
Can vitiligo be predicted by genetic testing?
We don’t have any information on vitiligo available, but you can find some here on the NIH website: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001834/