The phrase "afflicted individuals" refers to people who are suffering from a disease, condition, or problem that causes them pain, discomfort, or distress. Full definition
Recently, groups working independently at Yale Medical School; the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Harvard; and the University of California at San Diego reported that in afflicted individuals an important region of the brain called the hippocampus is smaller than average. (discovermagazine.com)
The software, called IDx - DR, looks for diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that afflicts individuals with diabetes. (statnews.com)
Therefore, variations in these ultraconserved regions would not spread through a population, because afflicted individuals would be less successful at reproducing than those who were unaffected. (scientificamerican.com)