It might also be applied, in different ways, to the great number of people who have various cognitive problems due to neurodevelopmental disorders or neurodegenerative diseases.
FORBES: Electrical Stimulation Might Improve The Brain's Capacity For Math
More than 6, 000 of these disorders are rare diseases, most of them caused by a single gene, and fewer than 200 have a drug treatment available.
About half of all liver disease is alcohol related, a third is caused by viral hepatitis and the remainder due to immune system dysfunction, metabolic disorders and inherited diseases.
It has become an expert at ferreting out hard-to-reach patients with obscure and potentially fatal genetic diseases--namely lysosomal storage disorders, a group of 40 genetic diseases marked by a deficient enzyme.
It also has expanded the number of diseases and disorders that merit an immediate review, which include acute leukemia and pancreatic cancer, to 113, from 100.
WSJ: Backlog of Social Security Disability Cases Leaves the Terminally Ill Waiting
Researchers believe that these nascent, undefined cells, which are able to rebuild diseased tissue and restore immune systems, may hold the key to curing a host of diseases and disorders.
While many scientists talk of the benefits of genetic screening and genetic alteration, including most notably the potential for eliminating hereditary diseases and disorders, others are more skeptical and have great concerns about the technology.
When scientists embarked on the 13-year journey to map the human genome in 1990, they envisioned a future in which the knowledge of DNA would aid in the diagnosis, treatment and even prevention of thousands of diseases and disorders.
Hayes said his organization supported the use of embryo screening to help prevent the passing on of serious diseases and disorders like Cystic Fibrosis, but is wary of other technologies and how genetic screening and alteration can be misused.
But he notes that young adulthood brings many health risks and behaviors that can have lasting effects, from sexually transmitted diseases to eating disorders, substance abuse and mental-health issues.
WSJ: Young Adults Find It's Hard to Part With the Pediatrician
But Opko is also determined to go into oncology, infectious diseases, and neurological disorders.
FORBES: Teva Chairman Continues To Seek Undervalued Biopharmaceuticals
Though a physician would have tested the sperm for sexually transmitted diseases and certain genetic disorders, there are disincentives associated with going through a physician.
Such thinking permits the design of drug molecules to treat complex human diseases or to modify other difficult biological disorders.
According to the National Organization of Rare Disorders, there are nearly 7, 000 such diseases in the United States, affecting a total of 30 million people.
Amanda Sandford, research manager for the organisation Action on Smoking and Health, said smoking tobacco causes a whole range of diseases such as heart disease, respiratory disorders and cancer, while using NRT as an aid to stopping has none of these risks.
Several environmental groups no longer say that medical biotechnology, which offers the best hope for curing many diseases and the only hope of beating genetic disorders, should be outlawed.
Conducting research in the areas of cardiovascular disease, central nervous system disorders, immunology and infectious disease, oncology, respiratory diseases and women's health, its best-selling products are Vytorin, Zetia, Remicade and Nasonex.
It's most commonly used to treat arthritic joint pain, but can also be used for other conditions like allergic reactions, sports-related injuries, immune system disorders, certain cancers and various other types of inflammatory diseases.
Genetic Alliance, a network of more than 600 support groups representing patients with inherited disorders, is trying to set up a database of information about the diseases in question for researchers to consult.
Respiratory therapists address patients with cardiopulmonary disorders or breathing problems such as asthma, and also care for babies born prematurely or with congenital heart diseases.
应用推荐