2024-01-12 18:59:25
The advancement of technology and medicine makes it possible to know what illnesses we are most exposed to, that is why we tell you What diseases do genetic tests detect?.
What diseases are detected with a genetic study?
The United States National Library of Medicine points out that genetic tests are analyzes where tissue or blood is taken from the person to see if they have any modifications to their genetic map.
These tests can help determine if a genetic disease already exists or is likely to develop one in the future so that, in that case, the necessary measures can be taken to prevent it from occurring, such as changes in diet or lifestyle.
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- Inherited genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, phenylketonuria, and many others are caused by mutations in specific genes and are passed from parents to children.
- Predisposition to cancer: Genetic testing can identify mutations that increase the risk of developing cancer, such as breast cancer (BRCA1 and BRCA2), colorectal cancer (genes such as APC and MLH1), and other types of cancer.
- Heart diseases: Mutations can be detected that increase the risk of heart diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and channelopathies.
- Neurological diseases: This includes conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which may have a genetic predisposition.
- Metabolic diseases: Genetic testing can identify inherited metabolic disorders, such as phenylketonuria and Gaucher disease.
- Autoimmune and allergic disorders: Some genetic studies can reveal genetic predispositions to autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and allergic diseases such as asthma.
- Rare diseases: Genetic testing can also help diagnose rare and uncommon diseases that have a genetic basis.
Genetic tests are of great help because they allow us to know if the patient should take specific preventive measures to avoid developing any of these conditions.
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What are the most common genetic diseases?
He European Institute of Chemistry, Physics and Biology points out that the 5 most common genetic or hereditary diseases are:
Las genetic tests could help detect these diseases to carry out preventive medicine and not corrective medicine, that is, to prevent problems from appearing or delay their appearance as much as possible.
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How are genetic diseases cured?
Genetic diseases represent a challenge because there is still no definitive cure; rather, people living with these diseases receive specific medical and pharmacological treatments to treat their symptoms.
However, genetic medicine is a discipline that has made many advances in recent years, so it is expected that gene therapies will report new discoveries soon.
These therapies focus on repairing damaged genes or replacing them with healthy genes, but these types of therapies are still in development.
Now that you know What diseases do genetic tests detect?it is expected that in the not too distant future, diseases that now seem “untreatable” will have effective treatment to improve people’s quality of life.
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