Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Of the Shelf Gene Tests in US


Want to find out what diseases await you in the future, your chances of developing Alzheimer's? Or whether you will pass something on to your child? Then a trip to the pharmacy may reveal all.
Biotech firm Pathway Genomics announced on Tuesday that personalized DNA tests to detect the risks of developing certain disease will soon be available at Walgreen's, a large chain of pharmacies.
It would be the first time that such tests would be commercially available for consumers, even though the company has offered them online for some time.
The Pathway Genomics kit, dubbed the "Insight Saliva Collection", enables the user to take saliva swabs following simple instructions and send them off to a California laboratory for analysis.
Costing between $20 to $30, the kit will be on sale at some 7,500 branches of Walgreen's from the weekend.
After sending off the swab, the customer has to log onto the Pathway Genomics site and create a personal account to order the tests they are interested in, out of three proposed sets costing up to $ 249. By analyzing the client's DNA, the company can test for markers which could indicate whether the person is at risk for about 70 diseases, including breast or prostate cancer, heart disease, diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis.
They can also test for responses to drugs such s anti-cholesterol medication, the anti-coagulant warfare or tamoxifen used to battle breast cancer.
Couples can also spend $ 179 if they wish to know whether they risk passing on hereditary disease such as cystic fibrosis to their future children. "Every one has the right to know the secrets hidden within their own DNA," the company says on its website. "With personal DNA testing, you can take preventative steps to improve your future, and even extend your life".


If you have faith in the three hundred and thirty millions of your mythological Gods, and in all the Gods which others have introduced into your midst, and still have no faith in yourselves, there is no salvation for you. Have faith in yourselves and stand upon that faith and be strong
Swami Vivekananda

Great men can even by their words erase the worrying fears generated by an inferiority complex
Bhagavata Purana
 
 

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