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After many
decades of promise, the field of genetics is beginning to bear fruit. The opportunities
are growing every day, however two areas appear to be playing a significant role –
genetic profiling and genetic engineering. As the new “gene
chips” continue to develop and become more accurate, analyzing thousands and then
tens of thousands of genes, and plummet in price, it will soon become not only possible
but practical to establish an individual profile that determines a person’s relative
risk for most of the common diseases. From a scientific standpoint, the ideal would be
that every child born will have a complete profile of risk factors (either before being
born through amniocentesis or immediately upon birth from cord blood) of the major
diseases. Companies such as Affymetrix, Genzyme, etc have developed the first steps that
demonstrated the feasibility and validity of the chips, now there is significant emphasis
on cost reduction to a point where it will be inexpensive enough to be available virtually
everywhere. However this possibility raises numerous legal and ethical issues revolving
around privacy, data security, right to know, etc. Yet, the availability of this
information in a preventive medicine setting, could revolutionize the entire way
healthcare could be provided. Preventive measures could be planned rather than the current
method of fitting everyone to predetermined schedules, screening absolutely everyone
regardless of risk of a disease, etc. |