Katherine Kelleher

Background  Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis  Utilizes in virtofertilization to detect genetic disorders in embryos  Prenatal Genetic Testing  Genetic testing may be done as early as 10 weeks into pregnancy syndrome_n_ html

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis ConditionSymptomsPrognosis Alzheimer's DiseaseMemory loss, confusion, loss of the ability to communicate or care for one’s self Life expectancy is 8 – 10 years after diagnosis Tay Sachs DiseaseSeizures, intellectual disability, paralysis Tay Sachs is generally diagnosed around 6 months old and children usually live until around age 4 Canavan DiseaseInfants begin experiencing developmental disabilities around 3 – 5 months old due to damage to brain nerve cells Children live until early childhood, generally dying before age 10  Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis allows for embryos to be tested for debilitating conditions and for healthy embryos to be selected  The remaining embryos are destroyed

Prenatal Testing  Genetic screening is done in the early weeks of pregnancy  Down Syndrome is routinely tested for  Researchers recently generated a complete profile of an unborn baby  This will soon allow doctors to test for up to 3,500 genetic conditions in utero born-babies-could-be-tested-for-3500-genetic-faults.html born-babies-could-be-tested-for-3500-genetic-faults.html

Genetic Conditions  These technologies can test for a variety of debilitating genetic conditions including:  Huntington’s Disease  Cystic Fibrosis  Down Syndrome  Muscular Dystrophy  Sickle Cell Anemia

Ethical Questions  Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis  Gender Selection  Eugenics  Prenatal Screening  Abortion  Genetic Counseling

Impact of Genetic Screening  Regulations are needed to prevent an abuse of the technology  This technology is very useful however in preventing many instances of debilitating and devastating diseases

References Adams, Stephen. "Unborn Babies Could Be Tested for 3,500 Genetic Faults." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 06 June Web. 10 Nov genetic-faults.html genetic-faults.html Bindley, Katherine. "As Prenatal Testing For Down Syndrome Increases, So Do Concerns About Counseling." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 20 Aug Web. 10 Nov. 201http:// "BioCentre." BioCentre. Web. 2 Nov genetic-diagnosis.phphttp:// genetic-diagnosis.php "NINDS Canavan Disease Information Page." Canavan Disease Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Web. 10 Nov "NINDS Tay-Sachs Disease Information Page." Tay-Sachs Disease Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Web. 10 Nov