Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Genetic testing and Targeted Treatment Q&A and Good News

I received a lot of questions regarding my yesterday's blog.
http://wolframsyndrome.blogspot.com/2014/08/genetic-testing-and-targeted-treatment.html

Most people asked me, "Is it really beneficial for patients? Is genetic testing really helpful?" Yes, it is. We have a very good example. Our friend, Dr. Bess Marshall, discovered that some patients with juvenile diabetes should be treated with a drug called sulfonylurea instead of insulin more than 10 years ago. This was based on genetic testing of one gene. As of today, our hospital has a capability of performing genetic testing of more than 3000 genes at once. This is called "Exome Sequencing."

By the way, I had wonderful news yesterday. A stem cell-based beta cell replacement therapy has been realized. I was so happy yesterday. I will discuss this more tomorrow. 
http://viacyte.com/press-releases/viacyte-inc-announces-fda-acceptance-of-ind-to-commence-clinical-trial-of-vc-01-candidate-cell-replacement-therapy-for-type-1-diabetes/