A single blood test can be used to detect chromosomal abnormalities linked to 85 disorders.
Quest Diagnostics reports that its molecular diagnostic test that detects chromosome abnormalities associated with 85 developmental disorders affecting children is commercially available. The ClariSure™ microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) test enables physicians to use results obtained from a single blood test to diagnose patients with mental retardation and dozens of other disorders, according to the company.
“Using today’s conventional analytical techniques, physicians may inadvertently miss the genetic cause of a patient’s developmental disorder,” points out Charles Strom, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the genetic testing center of Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute. “Our ClariSure test is a powerful tool that physicians can use to produce an accurate diagnosis more quickly.”
Quest Diagnostics’ ClariSure test will be first introduced to physicians at pediatric and children’s hospitals, with an emphasis on pediatricians, geneticists, and pediatric neurologists. The company expects to provide test results from its ClariSure assay to physicians within five days of receiving a specimen at a Quest Diagnostics laboratory.
“While CGH microarrays are often used for research purposes, the considerable expertise and development required to commercialize these technologies has limited their use for diagnostic testing,” notes Joyce Schwartz, M.D., vp and chief laboratory officer.