When I started medical school thirty years ago, and learned about the discovery of streptomycin, I wondered what it must have been like for the doctors who first used it to cure the “white death.” How satisfying it must have been to tell a …
Category: Genetics
Genetic testing may help cure or condemn those who suffer from addiction
In a recently published study, it was found that a set of 4 genes (JUN, CEBPB, PRKCB, ENO2, or CEBPG) was shown to predict the diagnosis of heroin addiction with an accuracy rate of around 85 percent. This is an amazing development and could open the d…
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome: Understanding a rare disorder and supporting patients and families
Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS) is a rare congenital disorder characterized by a broad spectrum of clinical features, including intellectual disability, growth retardation, and distinct craniofacial and limb abnormalities. Named after Dr. Jack Rubinste…
An inside look at the orphan drug revolution [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join us as we explore the history and evolution of the orphan drug revolution with James Geraghty, a health care executive. Discover how the pharmaceutical industry of the 1970s, driven by …
Chris Hemsworth and personalized medicine: How genetic testing can impact your health [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Today, we’re discussing the news about actor Chris Hemsworth and his genetic test results. Hemsworth announced that he is taking a break from acting after learning that he has a heigh…
The DNA of entrepreneurs: How your genes could determine your business success
Creating something new, taking calculated risks, and effectively allocating resources are all aspects of entrepreneurship. Both environmental and genetic variables play a role in this intricate process. This article will examine how a person’s pr…
Think about genetics in heart disease [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “Despite these high numbers, we cardiologists often look to genetic screening last in our diagnostic workup. But without genetic screening, we can’t always see the whole picture in ou…
Inside the mind of a medical novel writer [PODCAST]
In this episode, we talk with writer Dustin Grinnell. He takes us behind the scenes on his ideas for his books, his research process, and how he brings medical stories to life. We also delve into the realm of speculative fiction, and how that intersect…
Selectively sharing genetic information in the future
Communicating with relatives that they may share a gene variant that could cause disease is problematic. Maybe you do not want to share that information with other relatives. Maybe other relatives do not want to know about such information. Examples of…
With Lynch Syndrome, knowledge alone isn’t power [PODCAST]
“I imagine I would have, as I’m sure so many others do, headed to the Internet, reading both accurate and inaccurate information. While much of my visit with my genetic counselor feels like a blur, I left that meeting with a list of answered ques…
