Personalizing whole genome sequencing doubles diagnosis of rare diseases

Tailoring the analysis of whole genome sequencing to individual patients could double the diagnostic rates of rare diseases, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

In 2018, the UK’s department of health announced an NHS Genomic Medicine Service, which allows patients with rare diseases to have their entire genetic code read in the hope of providing a much-needed diagnosis.

However, the interpretation of this data can be extremely challenging and many people with complex, rare genetic diseases still do not receive a molecular answer to the cause of their problems.

In the study, published in Nature Communications, researchers at The London Mitochondrial Centre at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health sought to offer such patients an improved chance of receiving a genetic diagnosis.

To do so, they tested how using a genomic medicine team of specialist doctors, bioinformaticians, and scientists could boost the capabilities of NHS diagnostic laboratories beyond the standard semi-automated analysis of data. The UCL team re-evaluated undiagnosed cases to identify clues that might help direct further, more personalised analysis. They subsequently applied additional bioinformatic approaches, using advanced computer technologies to identify genetic alterations in a patients’ DNA which may be causing disease but had been overlooked during routine testing.

The work included 102 undiagnosed patients, suspected of having a primary mitochondrial disease (a large group of incurable genetic disorders that affect children and adults, associated with a broad spectrum of medical problems, severe disabilities, and reduced lifespan), who had undergone whole genome sequencing via the NHS’s 100,000 Genomes Project.

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