Diagnosing and preventing inherited diseases

Preventing transmission of maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA diseases.

Maternally inheritedmutations ofmitochondrialDNA can be asymptomatic or cause illnesses such as developmental regression, deafness, blindness, neuropathy, diabetes, cardiomyopathy, and liver failure. Families who have lost a child from a mitochondrial DNA disease (fig 1) often seek genetic counselling before trying to conceive again. They may also need support from their general practitioner wh...

Underwriting Dominantly Inherited Diseases Underwriting Dominantly Inherited Diseases

Geneticists worry that their patients and the patients’ families will be subject to unfair discrimination by medical underwriters when the results of DNA tests show that the patients are predisposed to certain diseases. They point out that these individuals may be healthy at the time the test is carried out and that, without the test, they would be considered standard insurance risks. This appr...

FeLV and FIV: Testing...Diagnosing...Preventing

The feline retroviruses, FeLV and FIV, today are well recognized for their ability to cause profound immune-suppressive disease in cats throughout the world. Clearly among the most complex infections affecting the cat, a retroviral infection demands an immune response that is robust and sustained if the infected cat is to survive long-term. Both innate immune responses (neutrophils, macrophages...

Diagnosing, managing, and preventing salivary gland disorders.

Salivary function provides host protection, assists in the initiation of food and fluid intake, and enables communication through speech. Without adequate salivary output, oral and pharyngeal health declines along with a person’s quality of life. The complaint of a dry mouth (xerostomia) and the objective finding of salivary dysfunction are common occurrences in older individuals, producing tra...

Diagnosing, preventing and managing sexually transmitted diseases in persons living with HIV/AIDS.