Close to half of breast cancer patients who chose to have a double mastectomy after genetic testing didn't actually have the gene mutations known to raise the risk of additional cancers, a new survey found.
After a 13-year-old boy's heart failed suddenly, his family arrived at Dr. Michael Ackerman's doorstep with questions. He was determined to find them answers. Since the boy's autopsy report seemingly failed to explain his death, more than 20 of his relatives underwent genetic testing for heart conditions that could put them at increased risk of the same fate. The tests diagnosed the family members, including the boy's brother, as having a potentially deadly genetic heart rhythm condition called long QT syndrome. As a result, a heart defibrillator was surgically implanted in the brother's chest to prevent any potentially fatal heart rhythms, or arrhythmias.
Doctors increasingly rely on genetic testing to help diagnose a patient’s illness or risk of getting a disease. Now a new study warns of the potential for the technology to lead to misdiagnosis. The study looked at gene mutations previously linked to the genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and found that some patients may be [...]
Christian Millare had a severe seizure on Jan. 5, 2008, and died. He was two years old. His mother Amy Williams is convinced, based on his medical records, the opinions of experts, and the published literature, that her son's life didn't have to come to such a premature end. Eight years later, Williams is suing [...]
At a time when genetic testing and genetically personalized treatments for cancer are proliferating, buoyed by new resources like President Obama’s $215 million personalized medicine initiative, women with breast cancerare facing a frustrating reality: The genetic data is there, but in many cases, doctors do not know what to do with it. That was the situation Angie Watts, 44, [...]
