DNA discoveries on rare disorders bring insight, angst to families

Two girls looked just like sisters: flat bridged nose, thin lips, fold near corners of the eye. Both children had learning disabilities, digestion problems, and more that has troubled them for so long. The thing is these girls aren't related.

According to The Sun-Sentinel, Samantha Napier, 14, and Taygen Lane, 4, are the two girls with such equal characteristics. The parents of these two girls felt as if they were meeting family, yet these two families are no where near related. A newly developed DNA Test has revealed that Samantha and Taygen share an identical nick in the short arm of their 16th chromosomes. Now that this new technology can scan each of any individual's 46 chromosomes for aberrations, doctors have provided thousands of children normally diagnosed as "autistic" or "developmentally delayed" with distinct genetic diagnoses. The symptoms from these findings can be traced back to dozens of deletions or duplications of DNA that were at one time undetectable. The mutations were normally not inherited in a traditional sense, and the children affected by the mutations are typically the only one in the family to experience the disorder. Many parents have searched for strangers that have been through the same genetic mishap. Families that have children experiencing the same chromosomal anomaly, they seem to seek insight from their own children.