NHS hospitals screening newborn babies for rare genetic illnesses in world-first DNA study
HOSPITALS have begun screening of newborn babies for genetic illnesses in a world-first NHS study.
Thirteen clinics in England will carry out blood tests on more than 500 infants, ahead of plans to roll it out to 40 hospitals nationwide.
Heel-prick tests check for nine rare but serious illnesses. The new DNA study aims to identify 200 more.
NHS chief exec Amanda Pritchard said: “If we can diagnose and treat children for rare genetic conditions years earlier, we have the power to help stop debilitating conditions.
“This will be life-changing for families.”
It comes after we revealed a new test could detect prostate cancer in 15 minutes or less, experts have claimed.
The “breakthrough” blood test was able to diagnose men with prostate cancer with 90 per cent accuracy in a new study.
Scientists from Aston University, Birmingham, developed a new method that analyses crystal-like structures in dehydrated blood.
Professor Igor Meglinski said the non-invasive technique can detect prostate cancer before symptoms appear with up to 90 per cent accuracy.
“This breakthrough opens new avenues for cancer diagnosis and monitoring, representing a substantial leap forward in personalised medicine and oncology,” he said.
There is currently no national screening programme for prostate cancer and the standard blood test, which measures levels of a protein called prostate-specific antigen (PSA), is not accurate enough.
Further tests, such as rectal exams and tissue biopsies, are often needed to diagnose the disease, and can be uncomfortable and invasive.