They Carry a Gene for ALS But Aren’t Sick. What Does Medical Research Owe Them?

September 21, 2023

(STAT News) – Nine months after her mom died of ALS, Jean Swidler walked into a doctor’s office at Columbia University and asked to learn her own fate. A genetic counselor swabbed her cheek or took a blood sample — Swidler can’t remember which — and called the next month. Gently, the counselor told her she had the same mutation as her mom. It was exceedingly likely that she, too, would develop the fatal, neuron-wasting disease or a related condition, although no one could say when. (Read More)