Filenews 22 December 2020 - by Dora Christodoulou
Much higher is now the number of young people in Paphos province who are taking the tests for the Friedreich Ataxia, which causes serious neurological and musculoskeletal problems in the bodies in the future. Officials stress that the disease, which has high incidence rates especially in communities in the province, has ceased to be taboo and more and more young couples are carrying out analyses to know whether their children will be free of Ataxia.
Speaking to the "F" program officials at Paphos Hospital stressed that the control for the bodies of The Disorder of Friedreich, is done in the same simple way as it is done for the stigma of Mediterranean anaemia.
"For cases of control during pregnancy," they explained, "amniocentesis is done at the 11th week. In some cases, the preimplantation method is also proposed, i.e. the placement of healthy eggs intrametria. In this case too, however, we are making a case for validating whether there is no problem.
It is very important to do this check, since young couples prevent the birth of a child with neurological and musculoskeletal problems caused in the future".
The scientists involved in the project also mentioned that statistically, a major problem is observed in communities of Paphos, visited by crusaders who were the carriers of the disease, hence the Ataxia of Friedreich is also known as the "crusader disease".
Taboos have now been broken, following constant updates in these communities from the Institute of Neurology and Genetics, and especially young couples are now seeking these prenatal checks.
"If one is identified as a carrier, the other is informed for analysis," they said. ''In the case of a person with the disease, a family study is followed by a family study for the person identified, in order to cover the whole family for the possibility of bringing the disease. The results of these tests shall be extracted in just one week''.
One in twelve people, of Paphos origin, is a carrier of this hereditary disease, according to research by the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics at a time when in Europe the rate is one in a hundred people.
"Friedreich" disease is an incurable, hereditary condition, which affects the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves, causing a lack of coordination of the movements of the patient, who ends up in a wheelchair. It was first described around 1860 by the German Nikolaus Friedreich and since then bears his name. The first symptoms occur in adolescence, or a little later, usually until the 25th year of life.
