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Genetic Counseling

UTHealth Houston Neurosciences can help adult patients schedule genetic counseling services when appropriate. Genetic counselors are specially trained clinicians who advise patients and their caregivers affected by or at risk of genetic conditions. The information provided can help patients better understand inheritance patterns and the impact their genes might have on the disease, and they can make recommendations for screening, treatment, and management of the disorder. Our team can refer you to a genetic counselor for patients with the following conditions:

Hereditary Cancer Syndromes

Von Hippel Lindau syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Hereditary Paraganglioma syndrome, Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia

  • Individuals with multiple family members diagnosed with cancer at young ages (less than 50) over multiple generations
  • Individuals diagnosed with multiple primary tumors (does not include recurrent cancer or metastases)
  • Individuals who have a family member with a known germline mutation

Neurofibromatosis 1

  • Individuals with multiple café au lait spots, freckling
  • Individuals with multiple neurofibromas or other characteristic lesions

Neurofibromatosis 2

  • Individuals with bilateral vestibular schwannomas
  • Individuals with unilateral schwannoma plus multiple meningiomas, ependymomas and/or cataracts
  • Individuals with a meningioma diagnosed at less than 25 years of age

Familial Brain Aneurysms

  • Individuals with a personal and family history of brain aneurysms
  • Individuals with a family history of brain aneurysms (2 or more close relatives)

Familial Cerebral Cavernous Malformations (CCMs)

  • Individuals with multiple CCMs
  • Individuals with a single CCM who also have a family history of CCMs

Epilepsy

  • Individuals with epilepsy plus a family history of epilepsy
  • Individuals with epilepsy plus additional features such as birth defects, intellectual disabilities or psychiatric conditions
  • Individuals with epilepsy plus multiple characteristics of tuberous sclerosis complex (cortical tubers, subependymal nodules, subependymal giant cell astrocytoma, kidney lesions, prenatal cardiac rhabdomyomas, lymphangioleiomyomatosis)

Neuromuscular Conditions

Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Becker muscular dystrophy, Myotonic dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Spinal muscular atrophy, Friedreich’s ataxia

  • Individuals with a personal or family history of the condition

Other Neurological Conditions

Familial Alzheimer’s disease, Frontotemporal dementia, Familial Parkinson’s disease, Familial Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, hereditary movement disorders

  • Individuals who have a personal and family history of the condition, especially with early-onset forms


Contact Us

At UTHealth Houston Neurosciences, we offer patients access to specialized neurological care at clinics across the greater Houston area. To ask us a question, schedule an appointment, or learn more about us, please call (713) 486-8000, or click the button below to send us a message. In the event of a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Room.