- With Mayo Clinic genetic counselor
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
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Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
"We must begin now to prepare for the future; we cannot wait until the details are known or fully understood."*
— David B. Schowalter, M.D., Ph.D., former Mayo geneticist, (*posthumous)
Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C., is a board-certified genetic counselor who specializes in hereditary cancer syndromes. One of her main professional interests is the family medical history.
"Recognizing features in the family history which may suggest an underlying single gene disorder can have a huge impact on families," she says. "Identifying a genetic susceptibility gene can allow family members to more accurately understand their risk of disease and empower those who have an increased genetic susceptibility to take control of their medical management and lifestyle factors which may influence this risk."
She received her B.S. in biology from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2002 and M.S. in genetic counseling from the University of Minnesota in 2004.
She was a clinical genetic counselor at the Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wis., before joining Mayo Clinic in August 2006 as a genetic counselor and educator for the grant-funded Mayo Eisenberg Genomics Education Program. During her time in Wisconsin, she was also an active member of the metabolic subcommittee of the state Newborn Screening Program and co-facilitated a phenylketonuria clinic.
At Mayo Clinic, she provides physician and staff education about clinically relevant topics in genomics. She also manages multiple education projects championed by Mayo Clinic physicians and is a faculty member for Mayo Medical School. In addition to her education roles, she sees adult patients in the Department of Medical Genetics.
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Genetics blog
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Sept. 5, 2009
Predictive genetic testing: What are the risks?
By Carrie A. Zabel, M.S., C.G.C.
What if you could predict your medical future? Would you want to know? The answer to this question may depend on many factors, such as the availability of treatment or preventive strategies. But, what if your future contained an untreatable and devastating neurological condition that would almost certainly leave you unable to care for yourself and your family?
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in older adults. It's currently irreversible and progressive; an individual with Alzheimer's disease slowly loses their memory and thinking skills. Eventually, they will lose the ability to carry out even simple tasks. A recent study published by Harvard scientists, including Dr. Robert Green, examined the effects, both risks and benefits of predictive genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease on a small group of patients.
This genetic test, APOE, can provide information on your risk of developing Alzheimer's. A person may have several variations of this gene; individuals who have two genetic variants called APOE4 are significantly more likely than an individual in the general population to develop the disease.
Many in the medical community have been concerned about the effects that predictive genetic testing could have on a person's psychological well-being and therefore, testing has been discouraged. However, Dr. Green's study showed that study participants actually adapted relatively well to this information. Participants who received their results did not appear to have more anxiety, depression or distress related to receiving this information compared to those who did not receive their results.
What do you think? Would you want to know? Should the medical community reconsider their stance in discouraging predictive genetic testing for Alzheimer's disease? Please share your thoughts and experiences.
17 comments posted
- Green RC, et al. Disclosure of APOE genotype for risk of Alzheimer's disease. New England Journal of Medicine. 2009;361:245.
17 comments posted