News

Tattoos may be a risk factor for malignant lymphoma

In the first large-scale study, tattooing increased the risk of malignant lymphoma by approximately 20% compared to not tattooing. Tattoo ink often contains carcinogens and causes an immunological reaction when applied to the skin. This study was a population-based study of cases and controls of all incident cases of malignant lymphoma in Swedish adults (aged 20-60 years) in the Swedish National Cancer Registry between 2007 and 2017 (n = 11,905). Tattoo exposure was assessed using a structured questionnaire in both cases and three age- and sex-matched random controls without lymphoma. The primary outcome was the ratio of the incidence of malignant lymphoma in tattooed and non-tattooed subjects.

GHC Genetics now offers non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT)

GHC Genetics is now offering for pregnant women the non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT). This test detects the risk of chromosomal defects such as Down's, Patau's and Edwards syndromes with an accuracy greater than 99%. The test can be performed from the 9th week of pregnancy and the sample for analysis is obtained by venous blood collection in our outpatient clinic.

Because some of the fetus's genetic information (DNA) is released into the blood via the placenta, it is possible to reliably identify chromosomal abnormalities from the blood sample taken. This is a gentle and reliable way to obtain key information about your baby's genetic health.

The first year of the Health Prevention Conference in Pardubice

On Tuesday, 21 May, the first year of the Prevention of Health Conference took place in Pardubice, organised by our sister company PRENET together with other institutions. The main purpose of the conference was to present the current possibilities and availability of preventive healthcare. Comprehensive prevention and early diagnosis are key to reducing the costs and increasing the success rate of treatment thus improving the health status of the Czech population, which has a major impact on the efficiency of the healthcare delivery system and is crucial for the economic development of the state and business.

After 25 years, the cause of a rare genetic neurological disease has finally been discovered

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 4 (SCA4) is a sporadic syndrome. Symptoms include muscle weakness, difficulty coordinating body movements, which causes a particularly jerky and unsteady gait, and difficulty speaking. The disease has long been known to have a genetic cause. As early as 1996, a link to chromosome 16q was found, but the mutation causing SCA4 remained unknown until now. Using the long single-stranded whole genome sequencing (LR-GS) method, which searched 6 495 genome sequence datasets, scientists finally discovered that a mutation in the ZFHX3 gene was responsible for the disease.