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
28
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.
Couples planning to have children can take prenatal genetic tests to know______.
选项
A、whether their babies are genetically healthy or not
B、whether they can have a baby
C、when their babies will come into the world
D、whether their babies are boy or girl babies
答案
A
解析
同义转述题。进行产前的基因检测来发现他们是否是基因疾病的携带者,这种产前检测在整个怀孕期间都是可以的。A“孩子的基因是否健康”符合文意。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/Wo1FFFFM
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
GenderInequalityInWesternsociety,traditionalmaleandfemalerolesarenotonlysubstantiallydifferent,butalsohighl
Heisanexcellentplayer,____________(从不轻易放弃).
FoxesandfarmershavenevergotonwellThesesmalldog-likeanimalshavelongbeenaccusedofkillingfarmanimals.Theyareo
Catsare【B1】______ofhabit.Theyliketogotosleepaboutthesametimeeverydayandforacertain【B2】______oftime.They
Asweknow,itisveryimportantthatafirmshouldpayattentiontothetrainingofitsstaffasthereexistmanyweakpartsin
A、Allprofessionalathletes.B、Allstars.C、Afewstars.D、Internationaltennisstars.CWhocanearnover$1,000,000ayear?
A、Thewestcoast.B、TheArcticcoast.C、SouthernOntario.D、AtlanticCanada.A事实细节题。文章的第一句话就直接指出:加拿大西海岸的气候最温和(themostmoderate)
A、Theory.B、Writing.C、Reading.D、Classicalliterature.A由选项均为科目可推测,本题是就某个科目或某人在学习方面的兴趣提问。根据对话末尾女士的回答Iwasmoreinterestedinth
TheChinesefairystoryFlyingtotheMoonnowturnstobetrue,withChina【C1】______thecountry’ssecondunmannedlunarprobe,
A、He’snotsurehewantstogototheparty.B、HejustreturnedfromavisittotheAndersons.C、Hemaynotbeabletogivethe
随机试题
不具有酚妥拉明的药理作用的是
赵XX,男,36岁,因居处潮湿诱发腰痛,腰痛困重,每于夏秋之交或阴雨天加重,活动后稍减,伴有咽干口燥,五心烦热,大便粘滞不爽,小便黄赤,舌暗红,苔黄腻,脉弦细数。中医病机为
试述借款人的权利与义务。
业绩评估不仅是证券组合管理过程的最后一个阶段,同时也可以看成是一个连续操作过程的组成部分。()
以下不属于公积金个人住房贷款与商业银行自营性个人住房贷款的区别的是()不同。
在进行社会工作面谈时,做好倾听的最重要的方面是()。
一般从业人员执行操作规程。具体要求包括()。
纪某因为运输毒品罪被判处有期徒刑7年,刑满释放后7年,禁不住朋友的再三恳求,帮助朋友贩卖了30克毒品。纪某的行为()。
在我国,司法机关包括()。
Fundingpublictransitisoneofthebiggestproblemsfacingcitiestoday.Oftenthetroubleisthatafewhigh-cost,low-rider
最新回复
(
0
)