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00:13According to online medical publications, there are over 6,000 genetic disorders, including
00:18cancer, diabetes, some mental health problems, and lupus.
00:23According to founder of GenX, geneticist Dr. Nikul Ramlachan, the country focuses on treating
00:28symptoms and diagnosis rather than preventing diseases.
00:33She labels genetic testing as one of the preventative measures as it can detect different risks
00:39in people predisposed to genetic diseases.
00:42It works by identifying mutations of genes in the body.
00:46If I take you and I take somebody who has a normal sequence at that particular spot,
00:52the person with the mutation has a higher risk of developing that disease.
00:57And how do we know that?
00:58Because we say we've checked 10,000 people who have breast cancer and all of them have
01:03had this mutation at this particular point in the sequence.
01:07And we call that correlation studies.
01:10Testing is done in panels where genes can be examined for predisposition to different
01:14diseases at once.
01:16Dr. Ramlachan says following consultations, which include information on family history,
01:22a determination is made on what to test for.
01:25So somebody might come in and say, listen, I want to know about diabetes, that's what's
01:28in my family.
01:29And based on their family history, and when we talk to them, they might say, well, you
01:32know, oh yeah, also my uncle died from cancer or my brother just got diagnosed with prostate
01:38cancer and so on.
01:39So then we start expanding the panel.
01:41The geneticist tells us the results of the test can inform how people live by way of
01:46providing specifications on diet, exercise, and even medication they should and should
01:51not take.
01:52We have something now for cancer patients called liquid biopsies, where we can actually
01:56look for reoccurrence of cancer or even detection in individuals who are not showing symptoms
02:02who have a family history and so on, just from one or two cells of circulating tumor
02:06cells.
02:07And it's just a plasma sample.
02:08Dr. Ramlachan believes genetic testing would be vital to mothers of newborn babies.
02:14She tells us she has been advocating for it for years.
02:17It's done by most other countries that are considered for its world, automatically at
02:22birth, where they screen for, I think it's about 166, depending on the lab and depending
02:28on the country that they come from, but a couple of hundreds of the more prominent and
02:34prevalent pediatric diseases in newborns that can occur from ages 1 to 12.
02:40At GenX, the tests can cost anywhere from $6,000 to $9,000 on average, all the way up
02:46to $40,000 for a full genome test.
02:49While she states that certain entities assist on a case-by-case basis when people require
02:54genetic testing, Dr. Ramlachan says more has to be done to afford the vulnerable and marginalize
03:01the opportunity for what she sees as preventative medicine.
03:06It needs to be built into our medical programs in Trinidad, and people need to think of it
03:14as an actual tool that is necessary and not something that's optional.
03:19Until that happens, it's not going to be truly incorporated.
03:22I am Alicia Boucher with tonight's Health Watch.
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