Prenatal diagnosis for Huntington's disease: a molecular and psychological study.
Two linked probes were used to determine the Huntington's disease status of the fetus conceived by a woman affected with the condition. The fetus was found to be unaffected with a certainty of 97 per cent. The ethical issues associated with presymptomatic testing were avoided since the mother presented with initial symptoms of Huntington's disease, but other psychological and ethical issues arose. The concerns of an affected woman planning a pregnancy, and the dilemmas involved in decision-making regarding prenatal diagnosis and possible selective abortion were exposed and explored with the patient and her husband.
Department of Human Genetics, School of Pathology, Johannesburg, South Africa.
A
A
Spurdle
J
J
Kromberg
J
J
Rosendorff
T
T
Jenkins
D000328:Adult; D015193:Chorionic Villi Sampling; D015342:DNA Probes; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D010375:Pedigree; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis
D015342:DNA Probes; D005819:Genetic Markers