In My Inbox........

I think maybe the government of Germany has been receiving the same emails as myself. You see, in case you missed it, Germany is banning Direct To Consumer testing of DNA. This is something that I have been covering for almost 2 years now.....not the Germany thing but the whole regulation of what could be construed to be the practice of medicine.

Why do I think Angie Merkel has been getting the same emails as me? Well, take a look at my inbox-

"There is a new comment on the post "How to Fake a DNA Test".http://www.eyeondna.com/2008/04/13/how-to-fake-a-dna-test/

Author: Scooter Jones Comment:If someone wants to fake a DNA test would it work if he put someone elses saliva, sperm or blood in his mouth prior to being tested.?"

A while back I said that people could potentially "fake" a DNA test, planting DNA at a crime scene, etc.

It turns out 'Ol Scooter is trying to figure out whether Sperm, Blood or Spit is the best way to go......Too Bad he doesn't know that it's awfully tough to "spit" sperm or blood into a vacutainer tube.......

Maybe he could just bid on one of those Whoel Genome Scans that KNOME is offering.........too late :(

These DTC companies better hurry up before the US does the same thing as Germany's law

"Under the law, genetic tests can only be carried out by a doctor and require the full consent of all parties involved.

In addition it prohibits the use of genetic testing for indications of a predisposition to illnesses that appear only later in life, such as breast cancer or diseases of the nervous system."

The Sherpa Says: With guys like Scooter out there, it makes a lot of sense to follow Germany's line. These days we seem to be pro-regulation anyways......... I think I hear Agent Smith at the door now.....

Skip the ritalin, get a genotype!!

This week in the American Journal of Psychiatry there is a study which links a specific haplotype(a few changes in the same copy of a gene) to ADHD onset. It is a confirmatory study(which is needed to draw any conclusions). The gene in question is the dopamine transporter DAT1. There has always been a familial risk of ADHD with identical twins being 70-90% likely to have the disease if their twin is afflicted. So naturally we have thought that this disease is primarily genetic. However, until lately the data did not indicate a significant role in DAT1 changes. But this literature is not very strong. Now there is a significant study, but this too needs some further investigation. Do I go out and get my kid tested for DAT1 polymorphisms? No. Does it give us hope for early identification of ADHD and other therapies besides a stimulant that stunts growth? You bet it does. Are there other ways to get ADHD without this gene change? You bet there are. That being said......
If there is a test and it is useful I will be the first to let you know.
Would you take the test?