I have had diabetes my entire life, and I am very thankful for the fact that modern medical discoveries have helped me live a happy, healthy life despite my disease. I have had to watch what I eat and take medications daily for most of my life, and while i used to feel like I was "missing out" when other children were able to eat sugary candy and I wasn't, I eventually learned that sugar-free candy tastes great. I am always keeping up on the latest diabetes research, and while researching, I have also learned about many other diseases and ailments and how they are treated and controlled. I know others are too busy to browse a bunch of medical websites, like I like to do, so I decided to start a blog that others can visit that contains information on a variety of medical topics all in one place!
Modern Medicine Saves Lives Every Day
Genetic Testing: How It Can Benefit You
For Content
Most people only go to the doctor when they are injured or feeling sick. However, preventive medicine is becoming more and more important. In fact, anyone, including single adults of any age, parents, or expecting parents, can benefit from all of the information and preventive medicine opportunities that genetic testing can offer. Then, you can choose between the various offerings from different genetic testing companies so that you can have all of the medical information you need to keep yourself and your family healthy for years to come.
Preimplantation Testing
If you have had trouble conceiving and have decided to try to use in vitro fertilization to get pregnant and carry a baby, then you have one decided advantage over people who are getting pregnant the traditional way. Before your embryos are implanted, a doctor can run tests on the embryos.
Preimplantation testing, also known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), is a way that doctors can ensure that the implanted embryos do not have any chromosomal abnormalities or gene mutations. This can prevent the baby you carry from having numerous disorders later in life.
For example, if one of the parents has a gene mutation responsible for genetic Alzheimer's disease, the chances of them passing the gene on to offspring is about 50 percent. And if the baby has that gene, they are essentially guaranteed to get Alzheimer's. PGD can look for that abnormality so that only embryos without that mutation are implanted.
Carrier Testing
Again, if you are planning to have children, but want to do so the old-fashioned way, you may be curious of your chances of passing a genetic disorder on to your child. Some disorders only manifest themselves if both parents pass on a gene for that disorder. This would mean that both parents are carriers because they have one gene for the disorder, but that the disorder is not manifested in them because two copies of the gene are required for the full disorder to appear.
This type of genetic testing can give future parents peace of mind that they will not pass certain disorders on to their children. Tay-Sachs disease is one of the most well-known disorders of this type and is a fatal disorder with no cure or treatment. As such, knowing whether or not one or both parents is a carrier is an important determining factor for deciding to have children entirely, or in further testing of the child in utero (prenatal genetic testing).
Now that you know just a few of the many ways that genetic testing can help you, you can decide whether or not this is a step you would like to take. In addition to child-bearing related issues, genetic testing can help to see if you will develop genetic Alzheimer's (one form of the disease), as well as the likelihood you will develop certain types of cancer. All in all, genetic testing companies will be able to help you get more information about your overall health and future health potential.
Share