When a baby is born, the famous heel test is performed, which consists of a series of tests to detect and thus be able to treat certain metabolic diseases, such as hypothyroidism, cystic fibrosis, among others (although they can vary depending on the country) .
Now, in the United States, they have created a new test to perform on newborns and that will be able to detect in its genes up to 193 diseases.
This new DNA test It can be done through a small sample of newborn saliva and will be able to detect genetic diseases such as epilepsy, anemia and metabolic disorders. The test will cost $ 649 dollars (around 530 euros) and is aimed at healthy babies, as a complement to the tests that are currently performed and that detect 34 diseases.
In an interview for MIT Technology Review, Eric Schadt the CEO of Sema4, the company that created this test, comments that some parents want to know more about their children's genes, than the standard tests offer.
With this test, people could be prevented from suffering for a long time before obtaining a correct diagnosis of any of the diseases that the test detects. In addition, the test also analyzes how it could be a baby's reaction to 38 medications that are commonly prescribed in early childhood.
In general, the test seems a good option for early detection of diseases, however, it may not be the best option for parents. According to Laura Hercher, a geneticist at Sarah Lawrence University, it may not be beneficial for families, since in certain cases, The test results could be cause for anxiety and confusion, and lead to other unnecessary tests and treatments:
"You put the parents in a terrible position, because they will not know whether to wait until their child is sick to perform certain draconian treatments in some cases", says the geneticist, because even if the baby had a mutation in its genes, It could be many years before I develop any symptoms or even never develop the disease.
