New Routine Screening At Birth Could Allow Intervention For Rare, Deadly Disease
Adrenoleukodystrophy strikes during childhood, but by the time the symptoms start to show the damage has already been done. Now that the test for it has been added to routine screening for newborns, early intervention could save lives.
Sacramento Bee:
What’s ALD? A New Genetic Test Will Identify California Newborns With Debilitating Disease
Starting last month, a rare but devastating genetic disease is now part of the routine blood screening given to all California babies shortly after birth. Adrenoleukodystrophy – commonly called ALD – is a tongue-twisty name for a brain disease that primarily strikes boys, often in the prime of childhood. Until now, it’s usually been detected too late to save children from deteriorating into a vegetative state, if not early death. (Buck, 10/3)