Medical genetics in Singapore.

ABSTRACT

This paper is a brief review of the scope of research and clinical work in human genetics in Singapore. Clinical genetics and karyotyping were established in the early sixties. G6PD deficiency was discovered then as the commonest cause of kernicterus in the newborn. Screening of all newborns was instituted. The measures taken have been very successful and kernicterus is virtually unknown since the early 1970s. Numerous G6PD variants have been discovered and characterized. During the 1980s the emphasis shifted to molecular genetics. Work on the molecular genetics of alpha- and beta-thalassemias, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, hemophilia and retinoblastoma have been established, and good progress on diseases such as neurofibromatosis, leukemias, and lymphoid malignancies. The diagnosis of tuberculosis by DNA amplification (PCR) has been successfully implemented. Numerous papers have been published on the molecular genetics of coronary artery disease, as well as in population genetics.