Direct to Consumer

TAG of the Week:

Many private companies offer genetic testing directly to consumers (i.e., without the mediation of clinical staff, genetic counselors, or other professionals).  One of the major concerns public health practitioners, health professionals, and other stakeholders have with this is how those not fluent in genomics or medicine may manage their decisions based on the potential abundance of genetic risks communicated.  Do targeted services, such as personalized diets for weight loss, circumvent or compound this problem?  Does Inherent Health adequately explain their methods?  Would more information on the tests and/or genetic information reported to clients be more beneficial or harmful?

http://www.inherenthealth.com/about-us/who-we-are/help-you-improve.aspx

The Downside of Implants

CUTAG of the Week:

Extensive research has shown that a mutation in the gene HER2, along with other genes, can increase one’s likelihood of developing breast cancer. Recently, many women who have discovered that they carry this mutation have gotten single or double mastectomies, in hopes of decreasing their cancers of developing breast cancer. Many women, after undergoing such procedures, may receive breast implants. With current evidence showing that breast implants may make it much more difficult to detect breast cancer at its early stages and thus make it harder to treat, do you think that women with the genetic predisposition to develop breast cancer should be discouraged from getting implants? If it is found that implants are in fact a direct cause of breast cancer, should a debate be started in perhaps stopping breast implant procedures?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130430194312.htm

Baby's First Test

CUTAG of the Week:

As adults, “Whole Genome Sequencing” is something we can do to find out more about our genes and predispositions we carry for diseases in them. When babies are born across America, they are required to do a “heel stick test”, testing their blood for diseases that if found early on, can be reversed. Whole Genome Sequencing in newborns is likely something that will become common place in hospitals, testing babies for not just treatable diseases they may have, but for predispositions to diseases that there may not be a known cure for. Do you think it is ethical to screen newborns for all genes, even those like breast cancer that do not have a definitive cure? If you were to have children, knowing that your baby is predisposed to an incurable disease, would your opinion of them change?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/03/165272373/genome-sequencing-for-babies-brings-knowledge-and-conflicts

Mother DNA

CUTAG of the Week:

Most genetic association studies examine the genetic material found in somatic cells, often overlooking mitochondrial DNA (mDNA).  This DNA, like DNA of the Y sex chromosome, is inhertied without any recombination such that it is identical between the offspring and the parent.  Mitochondrial DNA is preserved through the maternal line, however (versus the paternal line in the case of the Y chromosome).  How much attention does mDNA deserve as far as predicting inheritable traits?  The aging process is indubitably determined by a variety of factors beyond genetic makeup.  How much weight do you give the disocveries of the study discussed?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130821132710.htm

Genetic Family Swap

CUTAG of the Week:

It has been common knowledge for years that certain genetic variations inherited from our parents or ancestors can predispose us to certain diseases. For example, a mutation in an inherited gene HER2 can predispose a person to breast cancer. A new study has linked a mutation in a males sperm to an increased likelihood to develop ALL, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, the most common type of blood cancer in children. Even though it doesn’t directly cause ALL to develop in children, do you think that men looking to have children should now have their sperm tested for this genetic variation? For women, knowing that your potential partner has this mutation in their sperm, would you be less likely to have children and stay in a relationship with your partner? For men, knowing that you have this variation, would you be less likely to want to have children?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121217102556.htm