Gene scans solve mystery diseases in kids, adults

Your Health Matters

This Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013 photo provided by Ashley Wonderly shows Cannon Collier, 4, in Georgetown, Texas. His parents, Lindsey and Brandon Collier searched for years for an answer to what was plaguing their son. "We weren't getting any answers and they were just all over the map on everything they were testing for." "It is a huge weight lifted off our shoulders" she said of testing at Baylor that found a rare muscle disorder. Genetic counselors said the problem was not likely to occur in other offspring, so the Colliers had a second child. Their 6-week-old daughter, Smith, is fine, and Cannon is being helped now by intensive physical therapy and other treatments. (AP Photo/Ashley Wonderly)They were mystery diseases that had stumped doctors for years — adults with strange symptoms and children with neurological problems, mental slowness or muscles too weak to let them stand. Now scientists say they were able to crack a quarter of these cases by decoding the patients' genes.

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet
FollowFollow us
PinterestSave