A laboratory to undertake DNA testing for diagnosis and treatment of retinoblastoma (RB), a common eye tumour that affects children below five years of age, was declared open at the Aravind Eye Hospital here by P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman Emeritus, Aravind Eye Care System, on Wednesday.
The laboratory will be useful in identification of mutations in RB1 gene of parents.
If the gene mutation is present in the parent’s blood, it may be inherited by the children, resulting in RB. In sporadic cases, mutation occurs only in the retina of the developing baby and will not be inherited, according to Usha Kim, Professor, Orbit, Oculoplasty and Oncology Clinic of Aravind Eye Hospital.
VR. Muthukaruppan, former Vice-Chancellor, Bharathidasan University, and Advisor-Research, Dr. G. Venkataswamy Eye Research Institute, said that the laboratory was a unique example of how research could come to the aid of clinicians.
The facility is considered to be unique in the country.
RB affects one in every 15, 000 live births and its treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy and rehabilitation.
Free treatment
The hospital also has an exclusive ward to treat the children. Free treatment is provided for children from poor families under the Ring of Hope Fund.
