How is precision medicine giving hope to rare disease patients in the UAE?

Precision medicine is helping doctors move beyond treating symptoms to identifying the genetic causes of diseases, enabling more targeted and personalised treatments. Many rare diseases are genetic and often take years to diagnose, but advanced tools like genomic sequencing can now analyse a patient’s DNA quickly, shortening what specialists call the “diagnostic odyssey”. Doctors say therapies such as gene replacement and molecular treatments are becoming possible for conditions like Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, provided the genetic mutation is accurately identified. In the UAE, initiatives such as the Emirati Genome Program are building large genetic databases to support earlier diagnosis and more personalised care. Experts say combining genomic data with AI and integrated health systems could significantly improve survival rates and quality of life for patients with rare conditions. What are your thoughts — could advances in genetic testing and personalised medicine change how rare diseases are treated in the future?

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