Cashing in on personal genomics - September 19, 2008
Thanks to the well pedigreed (and well connected) founders of 23andMe, genomics has become quite a hit with the rich and famous. Despite a recent ‘for the masses’ price cut to 23andMe’s genotyping services (now $400 as opposed to $1000), wealthy trendsetters are still taking it to the spittoon in this delightful New Yorker vignette
But a new development yesterday indicated an unexpected philanthropic effect of all this moneyed interest. Sergey Brin, husband to one of 23andMe’s founders and a Google founder himself revealed on his blog that his genome contains a mutation associated with elevated risk for Parkinson’s disease. His mother has the disease. In a very personal note, and quite aware of the uncertainty that pertains to this variant he discusses the opportunities that this knowledge affords:
I know early in my life something I am substantially predisposed to. I now have the opportunity to adjust my life to reduce those odds (e.g. there is evidence that exercise may be protective against Parkinson's). I also have the opportunity to perform and support research into this disease long before it may affect me. And, regardless of my own health it can help my family members as well as others.
According to a New York Times story on the announcement, Brin has already donated money for Parkinson’s research, endowing a chair at the University of Maryland School of Medicine where his mother is being treated. Donors have generally given generously for causes that affect them personally. Perhaps this interest in genomics will mean more philanthropic endeavours based on speculation.
Comments
Let'us consider accurately the phrase "Sergey Brin, husband to one of 23andMe’s founders and a Google founder himself revealed on his blog that his genome contains a mutation associated with elevated risk for Parkinson’s disease. His mother has the disease". Well. As I wrote already in former papers (see my website)as well as , e.g., in this website, Stagnaro Sergio. Biological System Functional Modification parallels Gene Mutation. www.Nature.com, March 13, 2008,http://blogs.nature.com/nm/spoonful/2008/03/gout_gene.html,
today's physicians have to know that they may forsee future disorders on the base of both genomics and of alterations of a lot of biological functions, which play a central role in Biophysical Semeiotic Constitutions (ibidem). Sergey Brin's mother is affected by Parkinson, unfortunately. From Quantum Biophysical Semeiotics, disorders are transmitted by mother, due to the mitochondrial cytopathy, I discovered (ibidem). However, if the child is alike father, obviously negative for that disorder, in 50% of cases the predisposition is absent! Interestingly, in case of Parkinson and its predisposition, I name Parkinson's Inherited Reale Risk (In Bibliography of my website:124. Stagnaro Sergio. Depression, anxiety, and psychosis in Parkinson’s Disease. BC Medical Journal Volume 43, Number 6, July/August 2001, page 321 2001)"Simulated Sucking Test" is positive, due to raised prolactin level in the tubero-infundibular axis: mamma prolonged palpation brings about gastric aspecific reflex (= fundus and body of stomach dilate significantly), lasting pathologically: in health, reflex duration is 7 sec. exactly; in whatever infection,e.g., flu, duration raises to 8 sec.; in Parkinson prevention is 10 sec. or more. Exclusively in overt Parkinson and pregnancy (the only physiological condition associated notoriously with increased prolactin production) reflex duration is abnormally prolonged. Theory falsification or corroboration are easy to perform by everybody!
Posted by: Sergio Stagnaro MD | September 20, 2008 07:25 AM