Although it is rare, the treatment of SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), which is a very dangerous hereditary disease with its effects on the nervous and muscular system, is difficult and costly. With the SMA carrier test, which was started to be performed in the Near East University Hospital for the first time in the TRNC, it is possible to predict the risks of families for the disease, which has recently come to the fore with Karel and Asya babies.
SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), which has become one of the important agendas in the TRNC in recent months, is a progressive, hereditary disease characterized by the deterioration of tissues in the brain, brain stem and spinal cord, and muscle weakness. SMA is seen in one of every 10 thousand people in the world. Carriage is much more common. Scientific research shows that one out of every 60 people in the world is a carrier of SMA. Determining whether people who plan to have a baby are carriers of SMA is of vital importance to reduce the frequency of the disease.
SMA carrier tests, which are said to be among the tests that should be done before marriage by experts, started to be applied in the Near East University Hospital for the first time in the TRNC. Near East University Hospital Medical Genetics Laboratory Supervisor Assoc. Dr. Mahmut Çerkez Ergören states that the possibility of encountering SMA will decrease even more thanks to the carrier test.
It is important to have carrier tests to prevent genetic diseases.
Carrier tests reveal the presence of certain genetic disorders in people. Tests performed before or during pregnancy can measure the baby's risk of having a hereditary disease. Thus, the transmission of diseases from generation to generation can be prevented. The SMA carrier test, on the other hand, shows whether there is a risk related to the presence of SMA in the babies of the couples.
Reminding that the SMA carrier test was included in the routine tests required before marriage in Turkey, Assoc. Dr. Mahmut Çerkez Ergören said, “As the treatment processes of SMA are quite costly, aid campaigns are frequently organized in our country and in Turkey for many babies with SMA. However, the real solution should be to identify and eliminate this risk beforehand.
Assoc. Dr. Ergören uses the expression “In couples who have had a child with SMA before, the risk of SMA in their next child is 25 percent”.
Results can be obtained in 48 hours in SMA carrier tests!
SMA carriage tests, which are started to be studied by the Near East University Hospital Medical Genetics Laboratory, are concluded and reported within 48 hours. Assoc. Dr. Mahmut Çerkez Ergören said, “There is no need to wait for weeks for the SMA carrier test, which was previously serviced by foreign laboratories. As Near East University Hospital, we will continue to expand and continue services for public health.”
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