Off Topic DNA

[yulcdn]

Time Magazine's August 20,2012 issue has an article about the(relatively) inexpensive and easy access personal DNA test. Would you do it? Would you want to know if you are predisposed to a certain kind of cancer? What about Alzheimer disease for which there is currently no cure? However on the other hand, maybe the marker may improve the care you are currently receiving and personalize the medications that you are taking.
Would you or would you not take the test to access your personal DNA?

[Goofproof]

I would not, I have enough real problem to deal with, I don't want to waste any time guessing about new ones. Jim

Let Sleeping Dogs lie, I just give them a Bone! We are all dieing, that's fairly final.

[ems]

Very interesting question which I'm pondering as I type. The intellectual side would like to find out, thereby being on correct medications, etc. However, the emotional side has no desire to know any more than I already know.

I think a young person might have other ideas... and options. Once you are of medicare age, and assuming you have regular checkups to stay on top of your health, yeah... that's about it for me.

[the_nap_ster]

I have done it. My coworkers are DNA researchers, and I was an early volunteer. I still get updates as new discoveries are made.

For me, it was very helpful. My mother had breast cancer, and I found out I do not have the common genetic mutations for the cancer. This is not to say I 100% won't get breast cancer in the future, but my odds are less than if I had the genetic markers. I also found out I am a fast caffeine metabolizer, which allows me to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning without hurting my sleep hygiene (I was 100% off caffeine before I learned that -- now I allow myself coffee before 10am with no ill effects). And there are some medications I know are more or less effective on me. The list goes on and on.

For me, it's allowed me to be more selective in my health focus. Our DNA is not the final word on our health -- environment and lifestyle determine a lot -- but the DNA gives info about risk. I live in Southern California, so I don't worry about blizzards. But you better believe I am prepared for earthquakes. For me, knowing the results of my DNA scan helps me prepare in the same way.

I should say that I was in my late twenties when I had this done (and I'm in my early thirties now). For what it's worth.

[DreamStalker]

I had my DNA tested a couple of years ago although for ancestral research, first with the National Geographic Genographic project then with 23andMe.

Tests haven't seemed to affect me adversely (although many on the forum will disagree ) and the info I got out of it was very interesting. My risk to Alzheimer was found to be slightly elevated above the average population but I'm not worried about it. As the_nap_ster notes, your DNA is not written in stone, it is a living code that responds to and changes with your environment ... You do have a choice in your lifestyle to reduce and mitigate risk(s). I know that I can reduce advance glycation end products (high blood glucose action on proteins) and free radicals -- that trigger Alzheimers by eating a low-carb diet rich in antioxidant veggies.

Otherwise I would stupidly eat the typical grain-based toxic American diet and become a stupid zombie like the rest of the sheeple.

[chunkyfrog]

Only if no one but my doctor and I have access to the information--or knowledge that the information exists.
No government, no insurance, no bank. PRIVATE or not at all.

[DreamStalker]

Only if no one but my doctor and I have access to the information--or knowledge that the information exists.
No government, no insurance, no bank. PRIVATE or not at all.

Well privacy went out of vogue with the destruction of the US BIll of Rights.

We ARE ALL being watched by big brother, and big brother works exclusively for the banks and other international corporate interests.

I do miss the good 'ole days though ...

[BlackSpinner]

Only if no one but my doctor and I have access to the information--or knowledge that the information exists.
No government, no insurance, no bank. PRIVATE or not at all.

I was part of a gnome research project where I was living before. It was guaranteed to be randomized and we didn't get any of the results (unless they found something dramatically dangerous in the blood work) They not only took blood samples for DNA and other tests but did a whole body work up and IQ tests of some sort. It was interesting. I can get some of the research summaries someday. I would have loved to get the info from the DNA tests. Maybe someday I will pay to get it done.

[gertrude]

Only if no one but my doctor and I have access to the information--or knowledge that the information exists.
No government, no insurance, no bank. PRIVATE or not at all.

There is a fairly new federal law that will help some here: GINA -- the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act. It applies to employers and medical insurers. But it has a number of holes in it and note that it does NOT restrict the use of genetic information for writing life insurance, disability insurance, or long-term care insurance. (Life insurance lobby is too strong. They claim that they don't need this regulation because the market will take care of it. Ha!)

I personally would not take the risk of genetic testing for ancestry or curiosity or any unimportant reason -- too many opportunities for misuse of the data. I'd consider it, maybe, if it were needed to diagnose something when I already had the symptons, or where testing could determine which of a choice of drugs would be the most effective. I think I have a pretty good idea of the worst of my risks based on my family history. Don't need any additional motivation to make changes to promote a healthy lifestyle.

[BlackSpinner]

I personally would not take the risk of genetic testing for ancestry or curiosity or any unimportant reason -- too many opportunities for misuse of the data. I'd consider it, maybe, if it were needed to diagnose something when I already had the symptons, or where testing could determine which of a choice of drugs would be the most effective. I think I have a pretty good idea of the worst of my risks based on my family history. Don't need any additional motivation to make changes to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Well I don't have to worry about insurance or work or getting medical treatment so there is not a whole lot of reason left not to indulge in my curiosity.
As for being part of the study, it was my donation to society and science and I wasn't the least bit paranoid about it even if I was still working at that time.

[robysue]

I've had three specific genetic tests run in the last 15 months. All three were run because I was unable to tolerate a series of medications prescribed as prophylactics to bring my migraines under control.

Two of the three tests turned up mutations. Together the two mutations go a long way in explaining why I seem to be so sensitive to certain medications and why some meds don't seem to work very well for me, if at all.

As a result of the genetic testing, I was prescribed a prescription "food" called Deplin, which contains a massive dose of the metabolized version of folate in order to prevent migraines since one of the mutations reduces the effective metabolism of folate. The other mutation affects how my body metabolizes a large range of drugs currently on the market. Knowing about this mutation and the list of drugs affected by it should allow my future doctors to look for alternative drugs at the start of treatment rather than waiting until I develop adverse side effects.

But whether I want to be tested for genetic mutations that are strongly correlated to really nasty (and in some cases incurable) diseases is another question all together. And at this point, I'm not sure
i'd really want to know that much. But I can also imagine some not-farfetched scenarios where I could change my mind about such testing.

[Todzo]

I've had three specific genetic tests run in the last 15 months. All three were run because I was unable to tolerate a series of medications prescribed as prophylactics to bring my migraines under control.

Two of the three tests turned up mutations. Together the two mutations go a long way in explaining why I seem to be so sensitive to certain medications and why some meds don't seem to work very well for me, if at all.

As a result of the genetic testing, I was prescribed a prescription "food" called Deplin, which contains a massive dose of the metabolized version of folate in order to prevent migraines since one of the mutations reduces the effective metabolism of folate. The other mutation affects how my body metabolizes a large range of drugs currently on the market. Knowing about this mutation and the list of drugs affected by it should allow my future doctors to look for alternative drugs at the start of treatment rather than waiting until I develop adverse side effects.

But whether I want to be tested for genetic mutations that are strongly correlated to really nasty (and in some cases incurable) diseases is another question all together. And at this point, I'm not sure
i'd really want to know that much. But I can also imagine some not-farfetched scenarios where I could change my mind about such testing.

I have been busy investigating how we and our microbiome get along (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbiome and http://www.hmpdacc.org/ ). Yes, in us and on us at any particular time is about two pounds of prion, virus, mould, fungus, bacteria and many others which outnumber our number of cells ten to one (like 70 trillion of them!!). Frankly we cannot live without them, not in this hostile world. Likely many of our current modern day problems stem from a lack of understanding of them, indeed, an extreme contempt for them. I find it interesting that the “super bugs” seem to most reside in the very places which use the most severe germicide, fungicide, pesticide regimens. Perhaps the cause of obesity and OSA in America partially stems from this lack of understanding.

The link to this thread in all of this is that our microbiome “talk” with all of our systems often literally turning off and on genes!

I clean with much less “cides” and have even taken to eating things such as Kimchi. With Kimchi you wash cabbage (or other veggie), start the pickling process, stop the pickling process, plant a microbiome base and leave it out for days (I have heard of chefs eating Kimchi four years old). The result is 200 to 400 (probably more) varieties of microbiome types (as mentioned above) with a fiber delivery system likely capable of getting through to the large intestine. Perhaps this is why the South Koreans, in spite of their love of western ways, still have an obesity rate less than 3% and an economy much larger than it should be for such a small nation. In Korea Kimchi is a daily staple. Here I am learning to make it because it is hard to get otherwise.

I do hope we soon learn to get along with our microbiome and the rest of the environment that feeds it.

May we all find better health!

Todzo