Abstract

This article explores some of the issues that arise in the post-human genome era and uses various cases to illustrate some of the scenarios that a clinician may encounter in decision-making. The overarching goal is to improve awareness and encourage discussion among the scientific and social academics, clinicians, patients, and stakeholders, as well as society at large. Neurological conditions for which genetic testing is currently available are listed. This novel technology has also introduced a burden of ethical dilemmas for clinical neuroscience. Genetic tests can be used in healthcare to detect gene variants associated with a specific diseases or conditions, and in non-clinical applications such for forensics, paternity testing and anthropological research. It discusses some situations in which clinical genetic testing is generally utilized. The most common scenario in which a genetic test is ordered is for confirmation of a diagnosis. Genetic risk factor analysis is expected to play an increasingly important role in healthcare for many common disorders, including many in the neurological realm.