Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 53 total)
  • £125 for Genetic Testing – would you?
  • peterfile
    Free Member

    Quite a controversial one this…

    23andme

    Banned by the FDA in the US, but in the UK as of yesterday.

    Can give you information about, amongst other things, your potential health risks.

    BBC article

    I’m tempted, purely because I’m interested in stuff like this.

    bol
    Full Member

    I’m quite tempted, but it’s a bit of a Pandora’s box. I was at the Sanger Centre a couple of weeks ago looking at the machines churning this stuff out. The people there weren’t very enthusiastic about the idea.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    Read this first;

    http://www.vox.com/2014/9/9/5975653/with-genetic-testing-i-gave-my-parents-the-gift-of-divorce-23andme

    I think there’s possibly a lot more at risk than just receiving a report about a *possible* genetic predisposition to certain conditions.

    It’s all a bit snake oily on the health front and positively dangerous for family relationships.

    cyclomonkey
    Free Member

    definitely a pandoras box, really depends if your prepared for what you might find out and the follow up support, but then surely its best to know and take the best action to prevent something which your are predisposed to. If i remember there have been unintended consequences in the US where suddenly people have found daddy has another family, or your not actually related to who you think you are…

    I think this is the future of healthcare as the current system of ignoring prevention is crushing the NHS.

    I have looked at it before and considered it , now the price is reasonable Im going for it.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I think mine would be the equivalent of taking a car in for its MOT when you know fine well it’s going to fail 😆

    jimoiseau
    Free Member

    This is a product for people who read their horoscopes marketed as “genetic testing”.

    I’m out.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    In most cases it will, at best, reveal a very slight genetic predisposition to certain conditions, which you probably could have worked out just with a quick glance at your family history.

    Sadly, the kind of people who will pay for this kind of thing are the type who are most likely to overreact and become disproportionately anxious about any ‘findings’.

    DezB
    Free Member

    I guess if you don’t know your family history and/or are the sort of mug who would pay for this stuff. I know some people who would absolutely love to find out about all the health risks available to them!

    peterfile
    Free Member

    This is a product for people who read their horoscopes marketed as “genetic testing”.

    Not really though is it. It’s the same type of thing that’s been available to health care workers for years, but is now being made available direct to the consumer.

    I doubt reading your own unique genetic profile would be uninteresting. The predisposition to health conditions is only part of the data that would be available.

    sandwicheater
    Full Member

    Will it tell me if my children will be ginger? Tis the only thing that ways heavy on my mind.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    Nope not for me, Shirley it’ll be like reading a barcode or something 🙄

    Huge potential for misuse, genetic marriages made up by folks that want/feel the need/must have a “clean” genetic propensity to procreate for some sort of super human race.

    We’re flawed, get over it, save your money and do something more meaningful with it.

    konabunny
    Free Member

    They’re the guys that used to do all that “you’re half Igbo and one eighth Belgian” rubbish, aren’t they?

    soobalias
    Free Member

    will it answer that great forum question “will i die?”
    .
    .
    .
    .
    or will it just reply, “conti vert pros”

    jimoiseau
    Free Member

    Fair, the horoscope comparison was maybe OTT, but my point was that those buying it for medical information are mugs. It’s nowhere near as accurate as the tests available to health care workers and only gives vague indications of any real risk. Hence the FDA ban.

    I think the interesting part is really using it as a paternity test, finding lost relatives, and seeing the ethnic makeup of you genome. The last one in particular I think could be an eye-opener for certain people.

    peterfile
    Free Member

    I think the interesting part is really using it as a paternity test, finding lost relatives, and seeing the ethnic makeup of you genome. The last one in particular I think could be an eye-opener for certain people.

    That’s where my interest lies. I’m not arsed about the health risk stuff, but would be interested to see it nonetheless.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    That’s where my interest lies. I’m not arsed about the health risk stuff, but would be interested to see it nonetheless.

    That’s quite valid and interesting. Trouble is that most potential ‘customers’ are looking for something different, and will be presented with data that should come with a significant health warning itself.

    What do you get for your £125 – do you really get told through the post that you may be at a slightly increased risk of Alzheimer’s?* I can see that kind of information having a debilitating effect on some people.

    *No idea if this is one of the genetic mutations they might test for.

    Sandwich
    Full Member

    or will it just reply, “conti vert pros”

    So it’s a duff product. The correct answer now a days is High Roller II front Ardent rear.

    monkeyfudger
    Free Member

    seeing the ethnic makeup of you genome. The last one in particular I think could be an eye-opener for certain people.

    This, I’d love to know about my genetic ancestors and where they came from, I think it’d be really interesting. It’d also be interesting to see if me and the mrs are actually very distantly related…ahem…our mums maiden names were the same. You’d want to test and plot as many generations as possible and create a big (or small!) map.

    peterfile
    Free Member

    Trouble is that most potential ‘customers’ are looking for something different, and will be presented with data that should come with a significant health warning itself.

    I think you’re absolutely spot on. There will be a huge number of people who won’t be able to deal with the “results”, but actively seek them out anyway.

    One of my best mates was adopted and has never been able to trace his birth family, so he’s quite keen to do it, not from the perspective of finding his birth family but to understand more about the kind of stuff we all find out from looking at our family (ie history of cancer etc). It’s not that accurate, but I can only imagine how it must be for him to be completely in the dark about his family history.

    hilldodger
    Free Member

    Already have my genome sequence courtesy of colleagues who work in this area, cost me pub lunch and a pint 😀

    cyclomonkey
    Free Member

    having a quick read up it seems there is nothing wrong with the accuracy of the lab testing just the interpretation isn’t as comprehensive as it should be. Ie its only testing a few markers for a disease risk when research suggests there may be hundreds, or basing it on studies with different ethnicity.

    I wonder what effect the tests would have on Norfolk…

    twinw4ll
    Free Member

    Wouldn’t bother having the NHS well man mallarkey, so no.

    peterfile
    Free Member

    I’d be interested to see future implications for health insurance.

    If you take one of these “tests” and it indicates a potential predisposition to a particular disease…insurers would love to be able to limit future claims for that disease.

    I foresee an additional question on insurance declarations: Have you ever been given any information which indicates more than a 20% chance of being genetically predisposed to any illness or disease?

    fangin
    Free Member

    My current favorite tidbit of information in this regard is that most of us carry a goodly number of genetic variants that had been thought to definitely cause genetic diseases in those that carry them. Now that more and more information is being gathered from ‘normal’ people we find that the causal links are not as simple as has always been thought.

    This is an area of knowledge in the midst of a true scientific revolution – and you can bet that our understanding will get rapidly better. But for now, the genetic horoscope comment sounds about right.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    My understanding was that insurers currently aren’t supposed to ask for genetic test results (a voluntary agreement between insurers and the govt).

    seosamh77
    Free Member

    Northwind – Member
    I think mine would be the equivalent of taking a car in for its MOT when you know fine well it’s going to fail

    I prefer to think of myself as one of those bangers that you know everything is wrong with, but just seems to keep on going!

    I’d rather not know the specifics till I have to! 😀

    cinnamon_girl
    Full Member

    I’ve been genetically tested by the NHS, it was for a late-onset condition so had to wait til middle-age to be tested. Am very tempted for this one, in fact I was even considering it years ago.

    It’s a personal decision.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Certainly is a personal decision, but what useful information do you reckon you could get from it, health-wise?

    And if it told you you were at very slightly increased risk of a degenerative disease of some kind (that could not be mitigated by lifestyle improvements or medication), how would that affect you?

    kimbers
    Full Member

    as a medical/healthcare tool its of limited value, this one in particular

    as an interesting look into your genetics its fun!

    but there needs to be a national framework for administering and handling the results of this kind of test.

    personally I think we should all be sequenced at birth (and insurance companies be legally barred from accessing the info)

    If anyone is interested in a specific heart disease genetic test thats far more robust and better managed than this one I can point you in the right direction.

    wrecker
    Free Member

    And if it told you you were at very slightly increased risk of a degenerative disease of some kind (that could not be mitigated by lifestyle improvements or medication), how would that affect you?

    SELL THE HOUSE……GERONIMO!!!!

    cinnamon_girl
    Full Member

    Good questions but I have two children, both adults. In addition I have a lack of confidence in the NHS so, as far as I’m concerned, knowledge is power.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    as far as I’m concerned, knowledge is power.

    Even if the American Authorities have deemed that the ‘knowledge’ this test would give you is likely to be inaccurate? And that there’s no counseling offered if they do identify a ‘problem’?

    I’m not against genetic testing per-se but this seems like a solution that raises more problems than it can possibly solve.

    nickc
    Full Member

    There are too many downsides and few upsides.

    If you’ve got a genetic condition that’s going to effect your later life, sure, go ahead and get that tested, but I doubt a £100 generic test is going to reveal much to you without the surrounding counselling and medical advice with which to deal with and do anything about it.

    I read somewhere that go back just 8 or 9 generations and the amount of pairs of people involved in you family tree is already in the thousands, and that’s just the direct forebears. There’s potentially an issue that will get you regardless, and TBH, that’s just chance. welcome to humanity

    Northwind
    Full Member

    cinnamon_girl – Member

    as far as I’m concerned, knowledge is power.

    …and power corrupts 😉

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I don’t think any of us know how we would cope with this kind of information until it hits the doormat. Could be a feeling of powerlessness, rather than power.

    My dad has early onset Alzheimer’s. Part of me thinks it would be useful to see if there was a genetic component, but on reflection I think it would blight the next 20 years of my life.

    cyclomonkey
    Free Member

    so if in x amount of years you are diagnosed with Alzheimers how would you feel then knowing that a cheap test years ago may have enabled you to research the disease and enabled you to make an informed choice on how best proactively change factors in your control now?

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    cyclomonkey – you’re assuming that this particular test is able to accurately provide the information required to make an informed decision.

    No one (I think) has said that genetic testing if performed accurately and with adequate counselling and medical support can be of benefit – the question is whether this one is the right test to use (particularly with the added complications of ‘find out if your parents were having an affair’ built in).

    STATO
    Free Member

    so if in x amount of years you are diagnosed with Alzheimers how would you feel then knowing that a cheap test years ago may have enabled you to research the disease and enabled you to make an informed choice on how best proactively change factors in your control now?

    What if it says you are not likely to but gets it wrong and you based your choices on it?
    If the cheap test says its likely, are you going to drop £1000 on a better test?
    What if you could spend £1000 on a better test now, why have you not done that already?

    footflaps
    Full Member

    Answering the OP’s question, I’m not bothered about finding out….

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 53 total)

The topic ‘£125 for Genetic Testing – would you?’ is closed to new replies.