The Israelis use a method with which various diseases related to mental retardation can be detected, either in children or in fetuses. The system is called DGH (Comparative Genomic Hybridization) and is based on genetic analysis.
The DNA extracted from the blood is compared if it is a child who suffers the delay, if it is a fetus, the cells are extracted from the amniotic fluid or the chorionic villi. These samples are compared with samples from one of the parents, taking hundreds of data from the chromosomes of the cells and looking for deficiencies or excesses in the chromosome structure that produce the 70 different signs found and related to mental retardation. Diseases such as the syndromes of Prader Willi, Williams or DiGeorge among others. The system is interesting because it also allows us to foresee if in future pregnancies children can present any of these diseases, this would make it a very effective prevention system. However, as some opponents of this system indicate, the information may not be 100% accurate and this reason motivates not to disclose to the parents if the next pregnancy would be marked by a disease.
An example of the possible effectiveness of this new method is provided by the Jewish News Agency, in an Israeli hospital, a child with mental retardation, whose causes were unknown, was treated. Despite the tests performed, the explanation did not appear, the parents expressed their desire to extend the family but the problem of the first child conditioned their desire. The DGH system was able to detect in the first child a lack in one of the chromosomes, this lack was impossible to find through the usual tests. The fact is that during pregnancy, tests performed on the fetus revealed that it was in perfect condition, not presenting this deficiency.
This test provides greater tranquility in future pregnancies and the knowledge of the exact causes of a disease that a child may present, the bad thing is the high cost of the test.
