首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Genetic Testing Genetic testing is transforming medicine and the way families think about their health. As science uncovers
Genetic Testing Genetic testing is transforming medicine and the way families think about their health. As science uncovers
admin
2013-06-17
47
问题
Genetic Testing
Genetic testing is transforming medicine and the way families think about their health. As science uncovers the complicated secrets of DNA, we face difficult choices and new challenges. About Genetic Testing
The year was 1895 and Pauline Gross, a young actress, was scared. Gross knew nothing about the human-genome (基因组,染色体组) project--such medical triumphs, but she did know about a nasty disease called cancer, and it was running through her family. "I’m healthy now," she often told Dr. Aldred Warthin a pathologist at the University of Michigan, "but I fully expect to die an early death."
At the time, Gross’s prediction was based solely on observation: family members had died of cancer; she would, too. Today, more than 100 years later, Gross’s relatives have a much more clinical option: genetic testing. With a simple blood test, they can peer into their own DNA, learning--while still perfectly healthy--whether they carry an inheritable gene mutation (突变) that has dogged their family for decades and puts them at serious risk.
Take the Testing
Testing is just one piece of the genomic revolution. A major goal is to create new sophisticated therapies that home in on a disease’s biological source, then fix the problem. Already, genes are helping to predict a patient’s response to existing medications. A prime example, taken by Dr. Wylie Burke of the University of Washington, is a variant of a gene called TPMT, which can lead to life-threatening reactions to certain doses of chemotherapy (化学疗法). A genetic test can guide safe and appropriate treatment. Two genes have been identified that influence a person’s response to some anti-blood-clotting drug. And scientists are uncovering genetic differences in the way people respond to other widely used medications, like antidepressants (搞抑郁药).
Knowing a patient’s genotype, or genetic profile, may also help researchers uncover new preventive therapies for sticky diseases. At Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Christopher Ross has tested several compounds shown to slow the progression of Huntington’s in mice. Now he wants to test them in people who are positive for the Huntington’s mutation but have not developed symptoms--a novel approach to clinical drug trials, which almost always involve sick people seeking cures. "We’re using genetics to move from treating the disease after it happens," he says, "to preventing the worst symptoms of the disease before it happens."
It’s not just their own health that people care about. There is also the desire to get rid of disease from the family tree. Therefore, the future is what drives many adults to the clinic. The gene tests currently offered for certain diseases, like breast cancer, affect only a small percentage of total cases. Inherited mutations contribute to just 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers. But the impact on a single life can be huge. The key: being able to do something to ward off disease. "Genetic testing offers us profound insight," says Dr. Stephen Gruber, of the University of Michigan. "But it has to be balanced with our ability to care for these patients."
Genetic testing today starts at the earliest stages of life. Couples planning to have children can be screened prior to conception to see if they are carriers of genetic diseases; prenatal (产前) tests are offered during pregnancy, and states now screen newborns for as many as 29 conditions, the majority of them genetic disorders. For Jana and Tom Monaco, of Woodbridge, Va. , early testing has made an enormous difference in the lives of their children. Their journey began in 2001, when their seemingly healthy third child, 3-year-old Stephen, developed a life-threatening stomach virus that led to severe brain damage. His diagnosis: a rare but treatable disease called isovaleric acidemia (IVA). Unknowingly, Jana and her husband were carriers of the disease, and at thc time, IVA was not included in newborn screening. The Monacos had no warning whatsoever.
Not Take the Testing
Genetic testing, exciting as it may seem, isn’t always the answer. When Wendy Uhlmann, a genetic counselor at the University of Michigan, teaches medical students, she flashes two slides on a screen side by side. One says ignorance is bliss (福佑). The other: knowledge is power. That’s because the value of testing becomes especially ambiguous- and ethically complicated-- when there is no way to prevent or treat disease, as in the case of early-onset Alzheimer’s, which often strikes before the age of 50. or Huntington’s.
Today only about 5 Percent of people who are at risk for Huntington’s--which is caused by a single gene and leads to a progressive loss of physical control and mental acuity--take the test. Many are worried that genetic testing will put their health insurance or job security at risk. While there have been few documented cases of discrimination, nobody can say for sure what will happen as more disease genes are discovered and more Americans sign on for predictive testing. States have a patchwork of regulations in place, but what needs to happen now, experts say, is for Congress to pass the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which would put a federal stamp of approval on keeping genetic information safe.
Moreover, some people can’t live with uncertainty. Stephanie Vogt knew Huntington’s ran in her family-her grandfather and his three brothers all died of complications of the disease--and she wanted to find out where she stood. "As soon as 1 found out there was a test. I just had to do it," she says. In August 2000, after comprehensive genetic counseling, Stephanie, her sister, Victoria, and their mother, Gayle Smith, learned her results: positive. "It was like a scene out of ’The Matrix’, where everything freezes and struts again," says Stephanie, now 35 and single.
Scientific revolutions must be tempered by reality. Genes aren’t the only factors involved in complex diseases--lifestyle and environmental influences, such as diet or smoking, are too. And predictions about new tests and treatments may not come to pass as fast as researchers hope--they may not come at all. Still, it’s hard not to get excited about the future, especially when you consider the medical competition now underway.
In August 2000, Stephanie Vogt learned she got the disease of______.
选项
答案
Huntington
解析
同义转述题。此处要填入表示疾病的名词性成分作介词of的宾语。由原文可知,检测的结果是阳性(positive),即她得了家族的遗传病,所以答案为Huntington。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/30M7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
A、Becausehedidn’twanttogotothewoman’sparty.B、BecausehewasdeeplyattractedbyaprogramaboutOprahWinfrey.C、Becau
GenderInequalityInWesternsociety,traditionalmaleandfemalerolesarenotonlysubstantiallydifferent,butalsohighl
A、HeisateacherofEnglishinCambridge.B、HeisaconsultanttoaScottishcompany.C、Heisaspecialistincomputerscience.
Asweknow,itisveryimportantthatafirmshouldpayattentiontothetrainingofitsstaffasthereexistmanyweakpartsin
OlympicGamesareinternationalsportscompetition,heldevery-fouryearsatadifferentsite,inwhichathletesfromdifferent
ItcameassomethingofasurprisewhenDiana,PrincessofWales,madeatriptoAngolain1997,tosupporttheRedCross’scamp
A、Repairthephonebyhimself.B、Seewhetherhehasfollowedtheinstructions.C、Calmhimselfdownbeforegoingtothestore.D、
Nowthatthecoldwarisover,wemustbeginto______(集中更多的精力来谋求世界和平).
A、Thetestwillprobablycoverthenotes.B、Thetestwillprobablynotcoverthenotes.C、Thecoursewillneednotesforthesec
随机试题
颌面部危险三角区内的化脓性感染处理不当最易引起的并发症是
某施工单位承接了某山区二级公路4.5km的施工任务。合同段有一段长450m的两车道隧道。隧道位于软弱围岩地段。在隧道施工方案中有如下要求:(1)在隧道施工期间,由专职安全员作为安全生产的第一责任人,对隧道施工安全生产全面负责;
会计人员无论短期离职还是长期离职都应办理会计工作交接手续,且由下列人员监交()。
下列各项中,说明了投资方案单位投资所获得的净收益的是()。
某工业企业增值税一般纳税人2017年9月购销业务情况如下:(1)购进生产原料一批,已验收入库取得的防伪税控系统开具的增值税专用发票上注明的价、税款分别为23万元、3.91万元。(2)购进钢材20吨,未入库,取得的防伪税控系统开具的增值税
在一个C类网络中,()是无效的IP地址。
根据《刑事诉讼法》的相关规定,下列哪一案件是由高级人民法院管辖的第一审刑事案件?()
北京故宫博物院积极开辟新思路,不仅让雍容华贵的朝珠与现代的电子耳机实现了“合体”,还推出了“朕就是这样的汉子”折扇、顶戴花翎官帽防晒伞等文化创意产品。这一做法:
根据代理权产生的根据不同,可将代理分为()。
脸谱的颜色使观众对人物的善恶美丑一目了然。
最新回复
(
0
)