Speakers stress need to use new technologies for diagnosis

Islamabad: To educate
practicing physicians and
medical students on new technologies that can be used to better diagnose Celiac Disease as well as other rare diseases, a seminar on ‘Genetic testing for Celiac and rare inherited diseases’ was held here
Saturday.

Organised by Excel Labs, the main speakers of the seminar were Prof. Iqbal A. Memon, Professor of Pediatrics and Head of Department at Sir Syed Medical College for Girls, as well as Dr. Tahir S. Shamsi, Director, Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, NIBD, Karachi.

Prof. Memon discussed the challenges that health professionals face in optimally diagnosing Celiac Disease. He then described a new test, the Risk Stratification Test for Gluten Intolerant Patients, which can be used to diagnose equivocal or uncertain cases of Celiac Disease.

Dr. Tahir S. Shamsi explained how next generation sequencing can be used to test for over 200 rare inherited diseases, including Cystic Fibrosis, Tay-Sachs Disease, and Glycogen Storage Diseases. The NGS Panel assesses many genes at the same time and reduces costs compared to traditional methods which are often expensive and inconclusive, he stated.

In the end, Bilal Abbasi of Excel Labs presented the vote of thanks.