Wednesday January 22, 2020
World’s first emergency genetic test can save newborns from permanent deafness with simple cheek swab
As reported in The Independent today, A simple cheek swab could save babies from permanent and profound deafness in the world’s first emergency genetic bedside test, which is being trialled on the NHS. The swab means that nurses can identify whether a premature baby would be genetically predisposed to being left deaf after treatment with gentamicin, a life-saving antibiotic used to treat 90,000 newborns a year. Guidelines say a baby should have gentamicin administered within an hour, though researchers have known for 25 years that the antibiotic could lead to deafness caused by a genetic variant which affects 1 in 500 people. Testing for it has traditionally taken days.
Wednesday February 13, 2019
Quick DNA test that could save newborns from deafness: NHS to trial exam which identifies babies at risk of losing their hearing if given a common antibiotic
As reported in the Daily Mail and Mail Online today, one in every 500 babies born carries a genetic mutation which, if given gentamicin (a standard antibiotic), can trigger profound hearing loss in the subject. About 90,000 newborn babies (one in every 10) annually are given gentamicin if there is any hint of infection or if they require intensive care or surgery of any kind. This means more than 7,000 babies have lost their hearing since the drug was introduced. Genedrive plc have created a test that requires a simple cheek swab which is placed in a handheld machine and takes 20 minutes to tell doctors whether gentamicin is safe to use on the baby. The link to the article is below.
Wednesday May 02, 2018
Genedrive validates near-patient HCV assay
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Genedrive plc, a Manchester, UK-based company formerly known as Epistem, has completed validation studies of its point-of-care molecular diagnostics system and assay for hepatitis C virus. The studies were conducted in Europe as well as South Africa to demonstrate the assay works on genotypes predominate in different global regions.
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