Description
Innergene Active Screen
The Active Screen looks for gene mutations which predispose to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and arrhythmias (the Cardio Screen) and exercise induced Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis often called Motor Neurone Disease (the ALS Screen). Our ‘Innergene Active Screen’ brings both of these together into a single test.
More About the Cardio Screen
This analyses more than 75 genes related to inherited cardiovascular conditions that, if detected early, may have effective medical interventions and preventive measures. Conditions tested include aortopathies, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathies, thrombophilia, and genetic forms of high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Your family and relatives could also benefit – if you’re carrying a genetic mutation then there is a 50% chance that each of your parents, siblings and children could be carrying it too.
More About the ALS Screen
This analyses mutations in the C9ORF72 gene to identify those at increased risk of developing exercise induced ALS/MND. Your family and relatives could also benefit – if you’re carrying a genetic mutation then there is a 50% chance that each of your parents, siblings and children could be carrying it too.
The life-time risk of developing ALS/MND is about 1 in 400, but previous studies have suggested it is six times greater in professional football players compared with the general population. MND affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. As the disease progresses, messages from the nerves are disrupted and eventually stop reaching muscles, leading them to stiffen and waste. The disease can dramatically impair people’s ability to move their limbs, talk, eat and breathe and is eventually fatal. While about 10% of cases are inherited, the remainder are caused by a complex interaction between genes and the environment. Healthy asymptomatic individuals with a known pathogenic variant (gene mutation) may benefit by avoiding activities such as High Intensity Interval Training and exercise regimes involving more than 15-30 minutes anaerobic exercise more than 2-3 times a week as research shows that these activities can increase the risk of developing ALS/MND.
Having the Test
Having a test is a straight-forward process:
- the test is based on a saliva sample (a ‘spit-test’) so there’s no need for any blood tests
- if your clinic or gym or sports club offers our tests, then you can request it from them – you’ll book with them, pay them, they will undertake the test with you and talk to you about your results including signposting to an appropriate medical professional (cardiologist or neurologist) should your result be positive
- you can request a test directly from us (you book with us, pay us, we’ll send the test kit to you at home and we’ll provide a pre-test consultation; we’ll also talk to you about your results and signpost to an appropriate medical professional (cardiologist or neurologist) should your result be positive
