New test panel will improve diagnosis of genetic kidney diseases

Iowa Institute of Human Genetics launches KidneySeq™: A Comprehensive Genetic Kidney Disease Panel

The Iowa Institute of Human Genetics (IIHG) has launched a new, comprehensive genetic testing panel to help physicians in the care and management of patients with genetic kidney (renal) diseases.

According to Christie Thomas, University of Iowa professor of internal medicine who leads the Rare Renal Disease and Renal Genetics Clinic at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, this represents a major advance that will help patients and their physicians get accurate diagnoses for many kidney diseases that are now known to be caused by gene mutations.

"Recently, KidneySeqTM has allowed me to confirm the diagnosis of several patients," Thomas says. "Additionally, it has helped me exclude genetic risk in a few living [kidney] donor candidates who have a strong family history of inherited kidney disease."

The IIHG’s KidneySeqTM genetic test looks for DNA changes in over 170 different genes that can cause more than 75 renal diseases. Unlike traditional screening technologies, which analyze genes one at a time, KidneySeq™ offers clinicians the ability to simultaneously screen the more than 170 genes linked to renal diseases. Confirmation of a clinical diagnosis can eliminate more expensive, less precise, and possibly invasive testing and help guide therapy.

“Testing one gene at a time can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars per gene, whereas screening all of the genes at the same time can save money," Thomas explains. "Our hope is this test will easily and efficiently identify the cause of patients’ renal disease."

Genetic diseases are caused by changes in an individual’s DNA. Depending on how the genes are inherited, a disease could potentially run in the family.

The IIHG is a statewide resource that promotes clinical care, research and education in human genetics, and is focused on bringing precision medicine to the state of Iowa. 

For additional information, visit the IIHG website at: http://www.medicine.uiowa.edu/humangenetics/kidneyseq/