Bottlenecks in molecular testing for rare genetic diseases.
Despite the impressive progress in our understanding of the genetic causes of genetic diseases over the past decade, molecular diagnosis for rare genetic disorders is still in its infancy, being slow, expensive, unreliable, insufficient, and ill-organized in many countries. This leaves the gap between the hype of the current genomic research and the hope for a simple genetic diagnosis too large for patients and families affected with genetic disease. The bottlenecks in the molecular testing for rare genetic disorders are discussed below.
Willems
Patrick J
PJ
Genetic Diagnostic Network (GENDIA), Antwerp, Belgium. willemspatrick@skynet.be
D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005826:Genetics, Medical; D016045:Human Genome Project; D006801:Humans; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D035583:Rare Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*