Genetic Tests Can Unearth Family Secrets, Such as Incest

[The Straight Story]

Genetic Tests Can Unearth Family Secrets, Such as Incest
Medical Community Debates Implications of DNA Tests That Reveal Evidence of Incest

The genetic tests that have revolutionized the identification and treatment of many illnesses can also unearth family secrets like incest, sparking an ethical discussion in the medical community over how these inadvertent findings should be handled.

At Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, sophisticated DNA analyses used to diagnose such disabilities as birth defects, epilepsy or developmental delays revealed that in some children, about 25 percent of genetic material inherited from their mother was the same as material inherited from their father. That suggested their parents were first-degree relatives -- father and daughter, brother and sister, or mother and son. Children who inherited half as much identical DNA from both parents likely were the offspring of second-degree relatives, such as an uncle and niece. Had the mothers and fathers of these youngsters been unrelated, those same stretches of DNA would have differed.

In the few months that Baylor has been performing these detailed genetic tests, there have been fewer than 10 cases of consanguinity -- the phenomenon of inheriting the same gene variations from two closely related people, said Dr. Arthur L. Beaudet, chairman of Baylor's department of molecular and human genetics. However, wider use of such testing in children with disabilities is expected to identify additional cases of incestuous parentage.

"Although such revelations might provide important diagnostic clues to the underlying disorders, they also raise important legal and ethical concerns," Beaudet and colleagues wrote in the current issue of The Lancet.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/genenic-tests-reveal-incestuous-family-history/story?id=12889895

[hobbit709]

1. Test the teabaggers and Glenn Beck.

[Tunkamerica]

2. have them sign a release and let them know the possibilities.

how is this hard?

[DURHAM D]

3. Breathless concern over bullshit...

So what?

Nothing to see here - move along.

[Possumpoint]

4. Genetic Tests

Can lead to heart ache. Our youngest son has inherited degenerative neurophy. It turns out that both my wife and I have a recessive gene that combined to cause his problem. The nerves in his feet, legs and to a lesser extent, his hands are either not working or dying. At 38 he is facing bravely a future that may result in a wheel chair. His wife and family completely support him and will continue to do so.

On the other hand, my wife is racked with guilt. We married 40 years ago and had no idea of any problems. It tears me up to hear her crying and saying that we never should have met and mated.

rev'd to correct spelling error

[Sarah Newton]

5. Its sad

It is not your fault. Your wife should certainly stop blaming herself for your son's disease.