Word: brandts
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Such thorny human concerns are at the heart of a pioneering research effort that is bent on clinically identifying the long-term emotional and social effects of early genetic testing. Directed by neuropsychologist Jason Brandt of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the project enlists the talents of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, geneticists and ethicists to track the consequences of testing for the genetic mutation that causes deadly Huntington's disease. The program, says Brandt, "is seeking to determine how best to offer this test...
...when a disease is nontreatable, the burden of knowing can overwhelm the benefits. Nationwide, only 1,500 genetic counselors, most of them drawing on guidelines derived from Brandt's research, have been trained to help people assess such risks. "The protocol developed by Brandt is a paradigm for other late-onset, incurable diseases," says Nancy Wexler, president of the Hereditary Disease Foundation and a leading HD researcher. "It's very responsive to individual needs...
...Enter Brandt, 43, intelligent but unintimidating. Long fascinated by the physiological aspects of memory disorder, Brandt started delving into amnesia, Alzheimer's and dementia while a graduate student at Boston University. Upon joining the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1981, he began focusing on HD, a disease that he says provides "an almost unique opportunity to study how a deterioration of systems in the brain could result in cognitive, emotional and movement problems...
After an hourlong private session with Brandt, Jack admits, "I'm glad there's counseling involved. Some stories he told gave me some insight." But, given the turmoil in Jack's life, is this an appropriate time for him to undergo a potentially devastating test? "I see our job as ruling out only people who clearly have psychological disorders that make them vulnerable to the stress and put them at risk for catastrophic outcomes," Brandt answers. "Then my job is raising issues, helping people reason it through, rather than being the gatekeeper." It is Brandt's experience that people rarely...
...chief minister, Bertrand Osborne, resigned after the protests and was replaced Friday by a critic of British policy, David Brandt. Meanwhile Britain offered about $4,000 for each adult and $1,000 for each child who accepts a relocation package...