Are You At Risk?
Are you at risk of having a child with Canavan disease?
Anyone thinking of building a family should be screened for Canavan disease, along with other genetic diseases. Although the rate of prevalance of the gene mutation for Canavan disease is highest in persons of Ashkenazi (German and Eastern European) Jewish ancestry, it is also found in other ethnic groups at a lower prevalence. In fact, most of the children born with Canavan disease today have no known Jewish heritage.
Everyone should be screened, regardless of heritage. For more information, watch an informative short video here. It is particularly important to be screened if there is any history of Canavan disease in your family.
