One Test Offers 11 Answers with New Genetic Disease Carrier Screening Education Campaign.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Genetic Disease Foundation: --Follows Recent American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is a professional association of medical doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology in the United States. It has a membership of over 49,000[1] and represents 90 percent of U.S. (ACOG ACOG American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. ACOG American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists ) Endorsement --Similar Carrier Screening for Tay-Sachs Decreased Incidence of Disease by over 90% --Mother Who Lost Two-Year-Old Son to Genetic Disease Spearheads Campaign to Spare Anguish for Other Families Based on recent advances in genetics, it is now possible to identify individuals who are carriers for 11 life-threatening diseases. As a result, the Genetic Disease Foundation (GDF GDF Gaz De France GDF Government(-wide) Data Files GDF Guardia di Finanza (Italian Revenue Guard Corps) GDF Global Development Finance (World Bank) ) this week launches the 'One Test. Eleven Answers.' campaign to alert more than 31,000 of the nation's obstetricians and their patients that enhanced carrier screening tests for couples are available prior to or early in their pregnancies. In August, the Genetics Committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommended additional screenings and education for at risk couples, as the success of Tay-Sachs carrier screening can now be expanded to 11 diseases that are more frequent in Ashkenazi Jews than in the general population. About one in five Ashkenazi Jews is a carrier of one of the 11 diseases. The ACOG Committee recommends that testing should be offered to Jewish couples, as well as to couples in which one member has a Jewish ancestor or when one partner is Jewish. Only one blood sample is needed from each individual to perform all 11 tests. Five years ago, Elisa and Jim Ross lost their two-year-old son to Niemann-Pick disease Niemann-Pick disease n. An inherited disorder of lipid metabolism characterized by gastrointestinal disturbances and enlargement and abnormalities of blood-forming organs; it occurs primarily in infants of eastern European Jewish descent and it leads , one of the 11 diseases for which genetic carrier screening is available. "I was tested for Tay-Sachs disease Tay-Sachs disease (tā`-săks`), rare hereditary disease caused by a genetic mutation that leaves the body unable to produce an enzyme necessary for fat metabolism in nerve cells, producing central nervous system degeneration. , but wasn't informed of other screening options at the time," said Elisa Ross, GDF President. "Our goal at the Foundation is to educate other couples and to support research to identify, treat, cure and ultimately prevent genetic diseases so that others can avoid my family's experience. The 'One Test. Eleven Answers.' is a national campaign promoting genetic testing for the following diseases: Bloom Syndrome, Canavan Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Familial Dysautonomia, Fanconi Anemia type c, Gaucher Disease, Glycogen Storage Disease Type 1A, Maple Syrup Urine Disease ma·ple syr·up urine disease n. A hereditary metabolic disorder due to a deficiency of decarboxylase enzyme that leads to elevated concentrations of leucine, isoleucine, and valine in the blood and urine, characterized by the urine having an odor , Mucolipidosis IV, Type A Niemann-Pick Disease, and Tay-Sachs Disease. "The recent ACOG Genetics Committee Opinion recommends that obstetricians inform couples of Ashkenazi Jewish descent about the availability of carrier screening for additional Jewish genetic diseases," says Robert J. Desnick, Ph.D., M.D., Professor and Chairman of the Department of Human Genetics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine is a medical school found in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , and Scientific Advisor to the GDF. "The good news is the recent availability of screening for these genetic diseases permits couples to test for all 11 devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. diseases with only one blood sample." The Genetic Disease Foundation was established in 1997 by patients, parents and families as a non-profit organization dedicated to research, treatment and cure of genetic diseases. Vital to this goal is the education of patients, physicians and the public. GDF also supports research designed to improve genetic testing and to discover ways to treat, cure, and ultimately prevent genetic diseases. The campaign poster design was donated by Zimmerman Partners Advertising, one of the nation's largest advertising agencies. For more information about the Genetic Disease Foundation, call 212-659-6704 or log on to http://www.geneticdisease.org. |
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