Genetic Condition Lookup: MedlinePlus Genes & Inheritance

Look up genetic health conditions (cystic-fibrosis, huntington-disease, marfan-syndrome, ...) on the NIH National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus Genetics and get the plain-language summary, inheritance pattern, related genes, synonyms and review dates. Public-domain US government data.

What does Genetic Condition Lookup do?

Bulk-lookup genetic disorders on NIH MedlinePlus Genetics: summary, inheritance pattern, related genes and synonyms.

What can you use it for?

• Enrich a list of rare or inherited diseases with plain-language summaries.
• Map genetic conditions to their associated genes and inheritance pattern.
• Collect synonyms of a disorder for search or text-mining dictionaries.
• Build patient-education or genetics course material from an authoritative source.

Why use this Actor?

• Fast and cheap: lightweight HTTP-based Actor with no browser, so runs finish in seconds and cost very little.
• No API keys or accounts needed for the data source (see notes below).
• Clean, structured JSON that you can export as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML, or pull through the Apify API and integrations.
• Scheduling, webhooks and integrations: run it daily and send results to Google Sheets, Slack, Zapier, Make, n8n or your own API.

Input

Configure the run in the Input tab (all fields have sensible defaults).

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
conditions	array of strings	yes	-	Slugs from medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/..., e.g. cystic-fibrosis, huntington-disease, marfan-syndrome.

Example input

{
  "conditions": [
    "cystic-fibrosis",
    "huntington-disease",
    "marfan-syndrome"
  ]
}

Output

Results are stored in the default dataset. Download them from the Output tab or via the API.

Example result

{
  "name": "Cystic fibrosis",
  "inheritance": "Autosomal recessive",
  "relatedGenes": "CFTR",
  "synonyms": "CF, Cystic fibrosis of pancreas, Fibrocystic disease of pancreas, Mucoviscidosis",
  "summary": "Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease characterized by the buildup of thick, sticky mucus that can damage many of the body's organs. The disorder's most co...",
  "reviewed": "2008-01",
  "published": "2025-04-03",
  "url": "https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/cystic-fibrosis",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-21T20:42:07.756Z",
  "input": "cystic-fibrosis"
}

Output fields

Field	Type	Example
name	string	"Cystic fibrosis"
inheritance	string	"Autosomal recessive"
relatedGenes	string	"CFTR"
synonyms	string	"CF, Cystic fibrosis of pancreas, Fibrocystic disease of ...
summary	string	"Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease characterized by...
reviewed	string	"2008-01"
published	string	"2025-04-03"
url	string	"https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/cystic-fibrosis"
scrapedAt	string	"2026-10-21T20:42:07.756Z"
input	string	"cystic-fibrosis"

How much does it cost?

The Actor is billed by Apify according to the pricing shown on the Pricing tab of this page. Runs are small and fast, and the Apify Free plan includes monthly platform credits so you can try it at no cost. You can set a maximum cost per run, and the Actor stops cleanly when that limit is reached.

Notes and limitations

• Condition IDs are the slug from the MedlinePlus Genetics URL, e.g. medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/cystic-fibrosis gives cystic-fibrosis. Spaces are not converted, use hyphens.
• Unknown IDs return a NOT_FOUND row. Source: MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine (Genetics summaries are public domain). Informational only, not medical advice.

Tips

• Start with a small test run, then scale up the input.
• Use Schedules to automate recurring runs and Webhooks or Integrations to deliver the data where you need it.
• Call the Actor from your code with the Apify API or the official JavaScript and Python clients.

FAQ

Where do I find a condition ID?

Search https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/ for the disorder; the ID is the last part of the condition page URL.

Does it cover every disease?

It covers the 1,300+ genetic conditions written up by MedlinePlus Genetics, not common non-genetic diseases.

Feedback

Found a bug or need an extra field? Open an issue from the Issues tab of this Actor and it will be looked at quickly.

More tools from the same author

• PDB Protein Structure Lookup: Resolution & Citation (Bulk) - Bulk-lookup PDB structure IDs: experimental method, resolution, molecular weight, keywords and primary citation.
• Chemical Compound Lookup: PubChem Formula, Weight & SMILES - Look up chemicals by name: PubChem CID, molecular formula, weight, IUPAC name, SMILES and InChIKey (bulk).
• Clinical Trials Search: ClinicalTrials.gov Studies & Sponsors - Search ClinicalTrials.gov by condition, drug and status: phases, sponsors, enrollment, dates and countries.