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Volume 361:1622-1625 October 22, 2009 Number 17
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When Diseases Disappear — The Case of Familial Dysautonomia
Barron H. Lerner, M.D., Ph.D.

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The success of genetic-screening programs raises an intriguing possibility: some dread diseases of the 20th century may soon become history. A representative example is familial dysautonomia, a severe neurologic condition, the incidence of which has decreased precipitously since population screening began in 2001 (see graph).

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  		Numbers of Persons Born with Familial Dysautonomia, 1980–2008.

Population screening for the gene linked to the disease began in 2001. Total refers to all populations, including those outside the United States and Israel. Data are from the Dysautonomia Center, New York University School of Medicine.

 
By giving prospective parents the option of terminating affected . . . [Full Text of this Article]


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From Columbia University Medical Center, New York.



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