Anat Blumenfeld
Encyclopedia
Dr. Anat Blumenfeld is an Israel
i research biochemist
at Hadassah Medical Center
in Jerusalem. She discovered a chromosome
responsible for the serious disease Familial dysautonomia
which affects the nerves of fetuses. About 100 families in Israel
of Ashkenazi
Jewish origin have one or more children with the disease, and they suffer from nausea, high blood pressure, and some food entering their lungs. Dr. Blumenfeld says the disease was discovered about 40 years ago, but researchers did not know what caused it and whether it was genetic. She collected blood specimens for three years from the affected families and checked all their chromosomes and identified No. 9 as causing the disease. Apart from the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where Blumenfeld works, the test is now used only in New York
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i research biochemist
Biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
at Hadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center
Hadassah Medical Center is a medical organization that operates two University hospitals at Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, Israel, as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.The hospital was founded by Hadassah,...
in Jerusalem. She discovered a chromosome
Chromosome
A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein found in cells. It is a single piece of coiled DNA containing many genes, regulatory elements and other nucleotide sequences. Chromosomes also contain DNA-bound proteins, which serve to package the DNA and control its functions.Chromosomes...
responsible for the serious disease Familial dysautonomia
Familial dysautonomia
Familial dysautonomia is a disorder of the autonomic nervous system which affects the development and survival of sensory, sympathetic and some parasympathetic neurons in the autonomic and sensory nervous system resulting in variable symptoms including: insensitivity to pain, inability to produce...
which affects the nerves of fetuses. About 100 families in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
of Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
Jewish origin have one or more children with the disease, and they suffer from nausea, high blood pressure, and some food entering their lungs. Dr. Blumenfeld says the disease was discovered about 40 years ago, but researchers did not know what caused it and whether it was genetic. She collected blood specimens for three years from the affected families and checked all their chromosomes and identified No. 9 as causing the disease. Apart from the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where Blumenfeld works, the test is now used only in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.