Genetic Testing: Let the buyer beware
Mention of a prenatal genetic test for autism arouses serious concerns in autism circles: What decisions might expecting parents make about a fetus who they know will be disabled? Will have autism?
An article in the February 18th New York Times on the development of new genetic tests to “personalize” treatment for such diseases as cancer and lupus makes a further point:
Despite the tremendous promise of these tests, there is growing concern among researchers and patient advocates about how consistently their claims match reality. How accurate are they at finding potential genetic problems? Are different tests for different conditions equally reliable? And how tight is the connection between a genetic trait and a specific illness?
The New York Times article notes that there is “no independent review or government oversight” regarding the validity of these tests; indeed, no agency has been established that has
formal responsibility to make sure that genetic tests can produce correct answers reliably over time — or, more important, that there is even a relationship between a particular genetic variation and a person’s health.
Right now, there is no prenatal genetic testing available for autism, but there is genetic testing. Back in May 2006, I posted about Chromosonal Microarray Analysis (CMA), which (according to this information from Baylor College of Medicine) has “advantages for testing for disorders manifesting autistic features.” Some discussion ensued among commenters about what this genetic test was for; it was not clear if this test could or could not be used for prenatal genetic testing for autism. The CMA webpage now clearly states that
“CMA is not a general test for autism. CMA is not appropriate as a prenatal test for autism.”
and lists other genetic testing available for “patients with autistic features” but the discussion shows how much it behooves those who create and market genetic testing to be more than clear in the information they provide about these tests.
And it makes it even more clear that, when it comes to genetic testing, caveat emptor.
2 opinions for Genetic Testing: Let the buyer beware
Club 166
Feb 18, 2007 at 11:59 pm
I started to write a reply here, then as it lengthened responded on my blog here (hope I got the html right).
Basically, I think that eugenics has been a concept that has been endemic in the consciousness of the public in the US since the late 19th century.
Psychiatric Genetics
Jun 19, 2008 at 11:26 pm
[…] being developed) genetic tests for psychiatric disorders that are being offered by three different companies. Neuromark’s Mark-C will examine two genetic markers, GRIK2 and GRIA3, that appear to […]
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