Medical genetics is a medical field that deals primarily with hereditary diseases, as well as with prenatal and prenatal diagnosis. This field now offers all those who are treated in it advanced diagnostic methods, alongside a combination of innovative treatments that allow for optimal accuracy in diagnosis and the same applies to preventive treatment.
So what services can you receive from a medical genetics specialist and how might the field contribute to the treatment of various diseases? We will explain this and more in the following lines.
Doctor like Prof. Yuval Yaron - Expert in Medical Genetics Can assist his patients with genetic counseling. Patients need genetic counseling in the following cases:
• Pre-pregnancy counseling - Doctors like Prof. Yuval Yaron - a medical genetics specialist - can assist with the investigation and prevention of genetic diseases and defects. In cases where couples have a family history of hereditary diseases, the specialist will assist with comprehensive counseling and assessment throughout the pregnancy, with the aim of indicating the chance of having a baby with a hereditary disease or defect of any kind.
• Genetic diseases - Genetic counseling is also very helpful for people who have a family history of genetic diseases, including children of patients. The counseling also includes a comprehensive diagnosis and evaluation, and later, more in-depth counseling on the most appropriate course of action in light of the findings discovered in the previous stage.
• Oncogenetic counseling - This counseling is usually given to people who have had genetic cancer as well as to family members who have an increased risk of hereditary cancer. Based on the family background and the findings of various laboratory tests, specialists will be able to assess the chance of developing genetic cancer and diagnose the disease at an early stage - and we all know how integral early diagnosis is to preventive treatment.
Genetic counseling from an expert can also be provided in cases where pregnancies have failed, as well as in cases where there are repeated miscarriages that cannot be explained in any other way. It is possible that this is a disease of some kind, and it is even possible that this is a problem that arose due to the combination of genes. Of course, there are quite a few other explanations, and this is the role of genetic counseling. There is no doubt that a situation in which a pregnancy fails is not at all pleasant, but receiving counseling and revealing the risk factors greatly help to facilitate the process and move on. It is equally important to receive genetic counseling in cases where there is a reasonable suspicion that this is a natural miscarriage during pregnancy.
As mentioned, genetic counseling does not have to be in the context of pregnancy but can also be in the context of diseases. Genetic counseling here not only helps indicate the probability that the patient will develop one or another hereditary disease, but can also help with life-saving preventive treatment that can help with treating the disease at an early stage, which will help reduce symptoms and risk factors and in some cases even prevent the disease completely.