Cedars-Sinai Researchers Develop Blood Test for a Brain Disease
From Times staff and wire reports
Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles have found the genetic defect responsible for an incurable brain-destroying disease and have developed a quick blood test for identifying people who have the disorder or are almost certain to get it.
The disease is known as spinocerebellar ataxia type 2, and the newly discovered gene is called SCA2. The test for type 2 represents an advance for people with a family history of ataxia, because it could help them decide whether to have children.
“There is no cure at this point,” said Dr. Stefan Pulst, the lead researcher at Cedars-Sinai. Pulst was to present his findings Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Human Genetics in San Francisco.
