Cytogenetics is neither a treatment for obesity, nor is it a weight-loss remedy. However, the cutting edge field in diagnostic medicine can help some people get to the root of their weight issues. Researchers are learning more and more about the chromosomal causes of excess weight and obesity in humans. Some people have a chromosomal anomaly that causes weight gain and even obesity as side effects. By helping you discover these issues, cytogenetics can help some people lose weight.
Instructions
1. Ask your doctor for a reference. Most insurance carriers will not cover the cytogenetic testing without a referral. Before referring you, the doctor will perform testing of his own to see if the expensive genetic test is warranted. The tests may vary. The doctor will look for any other symptoms of some of the obesity-related genetic conditions. For example, people with Prader-Willi syndrome will have small hands and feet as well as a low IQ and eyes shaped like almonds, according to Cytogenetic Cancer Research.
2. Prepare for a bone marrow biopsy. The cytogenetic test to examine your chromosomes is karotyping and is best completed using bone marrow. The procedure to collect bone marrow is a biopsy. It is an outpatient test so a hospital stay is unnecessary. Harvard Health Publication's "Bone Marrow Biopsy" suggests you follow the specialist's orders to prepare for the test. These include refraining from eating after midnight the night before the procedure, arranging for a ride home after the procedure and preregistering with the outpatient facility.
3. Remove your clothes upon entering the patient room. You will be given a gown. The hematologist performing the procedure will administer pain medications and anti-anxiety drugs if needed. Harvard Health Publications says the drowsiness from the medication is the reason you will need a ride home afterward.
4. Lie on your stomach and relax. The hematologist will insert a needle into the bone to remove the marrow cells. After the procedure, the nurses will treat the small incision site and monitor you for a short time before allowing you to go home.
5. Wait for the results. It can take a minimum of two weeks to receive you results. The hematologist and pathologists will work with your doctor to examine the chromosomes extracted from the marrow, prepared and captured on film. It only takes one anomaly in the chromosomes to cause weight gain and obesity along with a host of other symptoms. Your doctor will counsel you on the results.
6. Undergo treatment. These genetic conditions are chronic and incurable, but researchers have developed treatments for many of them that ease symptoms and lead to weight loss. Stick to the treatment to lose the weight after cytogenetic testing.
