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This Nov. 2005 file photo shows future parents awaiting the arrival of their first child in Carlsbad, Calif. When you're expecting a baby, you hope nothing goes wrong. But at least one in 20 pregnant patients develops a scary complication called preeclampsia, a high blood pressure disorder that kills 70,000 women and 500,000 babies worldwide every year. New blood tests promise to help doctors predict and manage the condition. (AP Photo/Julie Busch, file)

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Preeclampsia can be fatal for pregnant people and babies. New blood tests aim to show who's at risk
By LAURA UNGAR - AP Science Writer
Mon,06/24/24-8:17AM , 118 Reads
When you're expecting a baby, you hope nothing goes wrong.
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This undated image made available by the National Human Genome Research Institute shows the output from a DNA sequencer. Collectively, about 350 million people worldwide suffer from rare diseases, most of which are genetic. But each of the 7,000 individual disorders affects perhaps a few in a million people or less. So there’s little commercial incentive to develop or bring to market these one-time therapies to fix faulty genes or replace them with healthy ones. (NHGRI via AP, File)

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Takeaways from AP's report on access to gene therapies for rare diseases
By LAURA UNGAR - AP Science Writer
Thu,06/20/24-11:42PM , 155 Reads
The promise of gene therapy looms large for families dealing with rare, genetic disorders. Such treatments offer the possibility of one-time cures.

But families and researchers worry such therapies will remain out of reach.
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Robin Alderman, right, and her son, Camden Alderman, 21, pose for a portrait near their home in Greensboro, N.C., Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Camden, 21, was diagnosed as a baby with a rare disease called Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, which is caused by a mutated gene on the X chromosome. It primarily affects boys – up to 10 out of every million — and can cause frequent infections, eczema and excessive bleeding. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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Gene therapy may cure rare diseases. But drugmakers have few incentives, leaving families desperate
By LAURA UNGAR - AP Science Writer
Thu,06/20/24-11:36PM , 105 Reads
Robin Alderman faces an agonizing reality: Gene therapy might cure her son Camden’s rare, inherited immune deficiency. But it’s not available to him.
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This microscope image shows the 46 human chromosomes, blue, with telomeres appearing as white pinpoints. Scientists have found the genetic cause of a neurodevelopmental disorder that they estimate affects as many as one in 20,000 young people. And they hope their discovery leads to a new diagnosis that can provide answers to families. They published their findings in the journal Nature Medicine on Friday (Hesed Padilla-Nash, Thomas Ried/National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health via AP, File)

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Researchers find a single, surprising gene behind a disorder that causes intellectual disability
By LAURA UNGAR - AP Science Writer
Fri,05/31/24-10:01AM , 52 Reads
Scientists have found the genetic root of a disorder that causes intellectual disability, which they estimate affects as many as one in 20,000 young people. And they hope their discovery leads to a new diagnosis that can provide answers to families.
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