ag¶Ä²© Genetics Department
Medical genetics is any application of genetic principles to medical practice. This includes studies of inheritance, mapping disease genes, diagnosis and treatment, and genetic counseling. It is estimated that 3-7% of the general population will be diagnosed with a recognized genetic disorder, not including common disorders with genetic components (i.e polygenic disorders), such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and psychiatric disorders. Genomic medicine focus on understanding how variations in an individual’s DNA may affect disease and health. This might lead to new ways to diagnose disease, earlier detection, primary prevention (prenatal diagnosis and preimplantation genetic diagnosis) and identifying genetic predisposition to a particular disease. This knowledge can also lead to new approaches to treatment.