BRITISH SCIENTISTS SAID ON MONDAY THEY HAVE DEVELOPED A NEW RAPID SCREENING TEST USING DNA FINGERPRINTING TO DETECT GENETIC DISORDERS IN EMBRYOS, REUTERS REPORTED. INSTEAD OF SEARCHING FOR AN ALTERED GENE LINKED TO AN INHERITED ILLNESS, THE NEW TEST LOOKS FOR DNA FINGERPRINTS, OR MARKERS, NEAR THE GENE. THE TECHNIQUE, WHICH IS BEING PRESENTED AT A EUROPEAN FERTILITY CONFERENCE, WILL ENABLE MORE COUPLES AT HIGH RISK OF PASSING ON A SERIOUS GENETIC ILLNESSES TO THEIR CHILDREN TO ENSURE ONLY HEALTHY EMBRYOS ARE USED IN-VITRO FERTILISATION (IVF). "BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT LOOKING FOR THE GENE, WHICH CAN BE DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT FAMILIES, THESE MARKERS CAN BE APPLIED TO LOTS OF FAMILIES," SAID ALISON LASHWOOD OF GUY AND ST THOMAS' NHS FOUNDATION TRUST IN LONDON, WHERE THE TEST WAS DEVELOPED. "IT CAN BE OFFERED TO MORE COUPLES AND ALSO IT IS A MORE RELIABLE TEST," SHE ADDED. SO FAR THE TEST HAS BEEN USED ON SEVEN WOMEN, FIVE OF WHOM ARE NOW PREGNANT. THEY WERE TESTED FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS, A COMMON INHERITED DISEASE THAT AFFECTS THE LUNGS AND DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, AND DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY, A DEGENERATIVE MUSCLE DISORDER IN MALES. --MORE 18/06/2006 23:09 ت م
