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Health

DNA sequencing may give hope to critically ill adults in hospital

Sequencing someone's DNA has so far mainly been seen as a diagnostic tool for babies and children, but it can also help adults

By Clare Wilson

29 March 2024

Scientists genetically analysed stored blood samples collected during the Penn Medicine BioBank study

Daniel Burke Photography/Penn Medicine BioBank

Being in intensive care is bad enough, but it can be even worse if doctors don’t know the cause of your illness or how to treat you. DNA sequencing, however, could give a diagnosis for about 1 in 9 young adults being treated in intensive care, a US study suggests.

Most of the previously unsuspected genetic conditions discovered via this approach involved a weak heart or blood vessels, or a predisposition to cancer.

The findings come…

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