Embryonic test sparks ethical debate

LONDON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A British couple will screen their fetus for a gene mutation that manifests itself in high cholesterol levels and heart attacks in the teenage years.

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority at the University College Hospital in London will award its first license to detect a virulent disease called familial hypercholesterolaemia, or FH, that can kill children before puberty, The Times of London reported Saturday.

The decision opens a controversy over medical ethics involving "designer" babies because the screening also tests for a less dangerous form of FH treated by drug therapy.

Heterozygous FH effects 1 in 500 people and leads to high cholesterol, but it is managed with statin drugs and diet. The homozygous FH strain effects 1 in 250,000 people and leads to high cholesterol in very young children that may lead to fatal heart attacks in their early 20s.

The screening of embryos is approved normally for genes linked to serious diseases such as breast cancer or in cases where mutations may lead to a significant chance of death, the Times said.