Genetic test for RP on microchip

Scientists have claimed that rapid genetic testing for eye disease is close thanks to technology developed in a US university.

Researchers at University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center have created a first-of-its-kind test on a microchip array that will help physicians hone their diagnoses for patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

In the September issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), staff at the U-M Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences report on the arRP-I sequencing array, the first technology to screen simultaneously for mutations in multiple genes on a single platform.

The screening technique, they claim, has already proven to be reliable and cost-effective. It is a novel tool for scientists and physicians alike, said lead author and Kellogg scientist Radha Ayyagari.

'For diseases that are associated with multiple genes, like RP, we now have a new and faster method for identifying the underlying genetic basis,' she commented.

'This is also useful in analysing complex patterns of inheritance and for understanding how causative genes might interact with each other.'

RP is a group of diseases, affecting one in 3,500 individuals, in which retinal degeneration leads to blindness or severe vision loss.