PRaGeD Mission: An Initiative by CDFD

PRaGeD Mission: About PRaGeD Mission

PRaGeD Mission is an interdisciplinary approach, which is initiated by CDFD for decoding the genetic mutations that cause Paediatric Rare Genetic Disorders (PRaGeD).

PRaGeD Mission: Relevance For UPSC

GS2(Health)

• PRaGeD Mission is related to public Health, which is an important portion of preparing for UPSC CSE.

PRaGeD Mission: Why in news?

• The Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), has initiated an inter-disciplinary approach to decode the genetic mutations that causes Paediatric Rare Genetic Disorders (PRaGeD).

PRaGeD Mission: What is PRaGeD mission?

• The PRaGeD mission is a PAN-India initiative funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• PRaGeD mission is the first ever ‘Mission on Paediatric Rare Genetic Disorders (PraGeD), a countrywide screening programme in association with 20 other institutions to decode the unknown genetic mutations causing such diseases.
• The CDFD will be collaborating with paediatrics departments of medical colleges besides, DBT’s own diagnostic centres set up under the Unique Methods of Management of Inherited Disorders (UMMID) programme and others.
• So, the vision of PRaGeD is to create awareness, achieve genetic diagnosis, discover and characterise novel genes, provide counselling, and to develop novel therapies for paediatric rare genetic diseases in India.

PRaGeD Mission: How challenging the mission is?

• The mission is “complex and challenging” as it seeks to identify the rare genetic disease due to gene mutation at an early stage of pregnancy and try to unravel the unidentified disorders.
• The mission intends to create awareness, achieve genetic diagnosis, discover and characterise novel genes, provide counselling and also develop novel therapies for the paediatric rare genetic diseases in the country caused mainly due to the endogamous marriages of within the community.
• About 5,600 families have already been identified for screening for this programme over a period of five years and once genetic mutations are detected in children, the parents will receive counselling while scientists will conduct studies in animal and cell models to understand how these have occurred.

PRaGeD Mission: Rare genetic diseases are a global public health concern

• Rare genetic diseases are a global public health concern with 350 million people affected worldwide and about 70 million Indians.
• An estimated seven crore people in the country are suffering from about 7,000 identified rare genetic disorders and the number could be more, because the rural areas have not been covered properly. They are common in South Asia and underestimated.
• About 95% of the rare genetic diseases do not have a single approved drug for treatment with about 30% of children suffering and many may not live till the age of five.

PRaGeD Mission: Know About CDFD

• The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) is an autonomous organization funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India.
• CDFD also receives funding from other agencies on specific collaborative projects.
• In addition, DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics services provided by the Centre support some of its activities.
• The Centre is equipped with world-class state-of-the-art instrumentation and computing infrastructure to facilitate research and development in frontier areas of modern biology.

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