ISSUES RELATED TO DNA TESTING FOR HUNTINGTONS-DISEASE IN SYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS

The DNA test for Huntington's disease simplifies diagnosis, but does n ot eliminate clinical and ethical issues. Records of 80 consecutive pa tients who had testing were reviewed; 54 had a positive result. We pre sent seven examples of the variety of problems disclosed by our review . Among the issues that remain unsettled are: (1) Who should do needed counseling and how much? (2) When, if ever, is presymptomatic testing for this incurable disease indicated? (3) Should the patient have acc ess to information about the length of repeats, as the age of onset is affected by the length of repeat? (4) Is it true that insurance compa nies or relatives have no right to learn the results of DNA testing on a patient?