Jul. 30, 2010 (United Press International) -- A U.S. researcher says New York state has granted approval for a new test to identify Fragile X syndrome.
The syndrome is considered the leading inherited cause of mental retardation and is the most common known single gene link to autism.
Dr. Charles Strom of the Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Nichols Institute in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., says New York's approval is significant because it means Quest's new genetic analysis technique for Fragile X fulfills quality standards widely regarded in the lab industry as highly rigorous.
"Fragile X can be a devastating diagnosis, given the severe disability it causes many patients," Strom says in a statement. "While it is highly prevalent, Fragile X is not widely tested for, due in part to technical limitations with conventional tests that our XSense technique largely surmounts."
Strom and colleagues say they may be offering a laboratory test suitable for screening for Fragile X -- especially in female carriers. Women unaffected or slightly affected by Fragile X syndrome are at risk of passing it to offspring.
The test currently in use -- the Southern Blot DNA analysis -- can take several days or weeks to perform while the Quest test results are reported in about a week for most patients, Strom says.
