Neurogenetic Diagnoses

<p>As world populations continue to age, the incidence of very common, ultimately fatal neurodegenerative diseases (some of medicine’s most puzzling illnesses) will increase exponentially. <em>Neurogenetic Diagnoses, the Power of Hope, and the Limits of Today’s Medicine </em>explores the diverse impacts and intense meanings of genetic diagnoses for patients suffering from such diseases, and for their family caregivers and clinicians. Through richly-textured, often heart-wrenching longitudinal case studies, <em>Neurogenetic Diagnoses...</em> reveals how extremely difficult it can be for patients to obtain a definitive diagnosis for the cause of their symptoms, even with genetic testing; how, with or without definitive diagnoses, patients and family caregivers strive to come to terms with their situations; and how they are aided (or not) in these endeavors by their doctors. The analysis is framed by increasingly sharp social debate over the consequences of decoding the human genome -- and the impact of genetic technology on our lives. </p> <p>Introduction <strong>Part 1: Searching for Answers</strong> 1. A New Door Opening 2. Destination Unknown <strong> Part 2: Coming to Terms with Devastating Prognoses </strong>3. Controlling Destiny 4. Dream of a New Life<strong> Part 3: Caregivers</strong> 5. Maintaining Hope and Independence in the Face of Despair 6. The Neurologists’ Conundrum Final Reflections</p>