Mail-order Genetic Tests Available Now

Are a few drops of saliva and a stamped envelope really all it takes to discover your inherited risk of developing any of 100 common conditions? This business is called personalised genomics, and apparently it is booming.

Offering “to help others take a bold, informed step toward self-knowledge.” Start-up companies like 23andMe, deCODE and Navigenics believe they can deliver on what some of us would like to know – our likelihood of developing certain diseases and conditions.

Women can check for a faulty gene that increases the chances of getting breast cancer by 50-80 per cent. It is possible to scan for diseases in just fertilised embryos, and last week the first baby (while still in the embryo stage) to successfully ‘pass’ screening for the breast-cancer-causing gene she may have inherited from her mum was born in the UK.

Tests may include the propensity toward alcoholism, diabetes, schizophrenia or obesity. Atlas Sports Genetics in the USA claims to be able to test for sporting potential.

Opponents of the use of these ‘kits’ are concerned that the complexity of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors cannot be reflected in the results of these tests. Diseases caused by mutations in single genes, known as Mendelian diseases, are few and far between, including muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. By comparison, nearly 20 genes have been linked in studies to Type 2 diabetes.

Genetics expert Dr Ségolène Aymé said, “Many of the kits currently on offer are simply scams,” little more than “genetics toys”. Even if tests are accurate, the interpretation of the data can remain uncertain.

Last year President George W. Bush of the USA signed a Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act to prevent potential abuse of the information contained in these genetics tests. This could be in the form of refusal to insure, employ or even finance. Will other countries follow as this technology becomes more widely available?

Do we really want to know the many ‘risks’ we face health-wise, particularly if the information is at best uncertain?

By heather saunders posted January 29, 2009 8:04 AM with 541 views