Medicine's Future Could Lie in Each Patient's Genome: In two studies, scientists quickly scanned individuals' DNA to get at causes of disease
On the one hand, single-gene disorders such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease could be detectable earlier and help doctors hone in on correct treatments. It's not so helpful for more complex yet common diseases such as diabetes or Alzheimer's. But it holds possibilities of targeted prevention as our technology grows and the cost of DNA sequencing goes down.
The article doesn't, however, address privacy concerns and what happens in terms of a person's chances of getting insurance in a world where newborns' genes are sequenced and their potential disorders are catalogued in their medical record. Even now, for example, there are women whose families have a strong history of breast cancer who are afraid to test for the genes--even though the test has been around for awhile--because of what it might do if it fell into the hands of insurance companies. The idea is that you could be blacklisted for conditions you might develop. That's not so bad in a healthcare system where everyone is treated equally (such as with socialised medicine). But for one based on health management organisations and the like, where costs to the insurer are very important--it could be devastating.
Still, the two studies are remarkable. The future is now, as the saying goes.
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