Should kids have genetic tests? It depends. (NHGRI)
Exomes are big news. Sequencing of the protein-encoding part of the genome is increasingly solving medical mysteries in children. It began with Nicholas Volker and his recovery from a devastating gastrointestinal disease with a stem cell transplant once his exome sequence revealed his problem. And recent Medscape assignments reveal the trend: 7 of 12 kids’ exomes leading to diagnosis at
Duke University
from May 10, 2012; whole genomes of 5 infants from the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri from October 3, in under 2 days each, focusing on 600 single-gene diseases; and 300 patients at the Whole Genome Laboratory at the Baylor College of Medicine, with 300 more waiting -- 85% of them kids, from November 9, 2012. (You have to sign in to Medscape; it’s free.)
But wait.
Before we all run out to get our exomes and/or genomes sequenced, Read More
Duke University
from May 10, 2012; whole genomes of 5 infants from the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s Mercy Hospital and Clinics in Kansas City, Missouri from October 3, in under 2 days each, focusing on 600 single-gene diseases; and 300 patients at the Whole Genome Laboratory at the Baylor College of Medicine, with 300 more waiting -- 85% of them kids, from November 9, 2012. (You have to sign in to Medscape; it’s free.)
But wait.
Before we all run out to get our exomes and/or genomes sequenced, Read More