Connect Sign InGenetics of Primary Immunodeficiencies
Most immunodeficiencies seen in clinical practice are secondary to infection (e.g. HIV), malignancy (e.g. Multiple Myeloma), or are iatrogenic (e.g. immunosuppressive drugs). Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDD) are thought to be genetic in origin. There are now over 150 PIDD recognized, and their number is still growing. Most of these diseases are individually rare, but as group they have an estimated prevalence of 1:1200 in the USA, similar to acute leukemias. Diagnosis of PIDDs requires integration of data from clinical findings with laboratory immunological analyses and increasingly with genetic testing. In this presentation we discuss the utility of molecular diagnosis in immunodeficiency diseases, and then review specific examples of genetic susceptibility to bacterial, fungal and viral infections.
Dr. Kumanovics is an assistant medical director of the Immunology Laboratory and co-director of the Immunogenetics Laboratory at ARUP Laboratories, as well as an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Kumanovics received his MD at the University of Pecs Medical and Health Sciences Centre in Hungary. He completed postdoctoral research fellowships at the University of Utah School of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and served as a clinical pathology resident, an immunology fellow, and a molecular genetic pathology fellow at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Kumanovics is board certified in clinical pathology by the American Board of Pathology and molecular genetic pathology by the American Board of Medical Genetics and American Board of Pathology.
