OT: 23 and Me

HeavyG

Gulfcoastguy said:

For macular degeneration, which my mother has, my chances are less tha 1 in 50. That is about the average for the population. For Alzheimer’s, I have no markers so I am less likely than average to come down with it. Since I live by myself, 90 miles from my nearest relative, and in an area without public transportation, I find it somewhat reassuring. Of course I once told someone who was worrying excessively that the International Space Station could always fall out of the sky and land on her.

When 23andMe first started years ago they provided info regarding ones genetic makeup and a whole bunch of conditions. Even tho they always made it clear that despite your specific DNA one shouldn't assume that you will or won't get some disease/condition.

A few years ago the FDA made them stop doing that so for a while they were just focused on the ancestry aspect of ones DNA. Not too long ago the FDA eased up a bit and now one can again get some info on  what a few specific genetic markers may mean for their health.

I was an early user of 23andMe and have test reports on dozens of health conditions available to me (and I've archived all those) but they haven't been updated with new info - and won't be until the FDA completely backs off - since I think around 2012.

There was a class action lawsuit against 23andMe a couple years ago regarding the provision of a lot of health data and it was settled last year. I got my settlement check a few weeks ago - $25! Woo Hoo! I'm sure the lawyers got $25 million. I'm hoping that one day the FDA will completely back off so that all those reports I got a few years ago can be updated with more recent info. It would be interesting to see if their risk assessments have had any significant changes.

My risk for both macular degeneration and Alzheimers are lower than average but last year at my eye exam my doc told me I  have early signs of macular degeneration so now I take a couple AREDS 2 pills and look at a grid chart every day. My mother had dementia and died in her mid-80's (they thought it was Alzheimers but later decided it was Pick's disease) but according to 23andMe my risk is below average. I'll probably never get dementia because I'm far more likely to die of a heart attack well before the age that dementia would likely hit me (so I got that going for me which is nice).

If you haven't already read some of the info out there about genetic testing and Alzheimers you might want to read this - http://blog.alz.org/fda-approves-at-home-test-for-an-alzheimers-disease-risk-gene-what-you-need-to-know/

Gulfcoastguy

They actually just added some more health reports.  Guess the FDA backed off. The FDA is too conservative anyway. My younger sister had a hole in her heart. The only FDA approved repair involved full on open heart surgery. Her surgeon was from Italy. He got the insurance company to approve a method that they had been using many years. He just ran a tube through a vein and attached a plug that opened like one of the paper umbrellas used in fancy drinks. As to medical odds, sometimes the dice come up snake eyes.

JohnEggGio

@HeavyG. Maybe you’re not getting updates because you were part of a plaintiff group, but I sent in my dna sample less tha 6 months ago, received results about 60 days later, and just this week received an additional report on breast cancer gene variants.

For those that poopoo the value of genetic testing, my wife’s sister was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  She underwent genetic testing and was found to have the BR-CA2 variant - which meant there’s a 50% chance that my wife has the variant — and then, if my wife has it, a 50%!chance that our wonderful 18 yr old daughter has it.  Having the variant boosts lifetime probability of having breast cancer from about 12% to as high as 84% (just going from memory).

To test or not to test?  What to do upon getting a positive result?  With a positive BR-CA2, medical professionals recommend courses of action as extreme as mastectomy and hysterectomy.

HeavyG

JohnEggGio said:

@HeavyG. Maybe you’re not getting updates because you were part of a plaintiff group, but I sent in my dna sample less tha 6 months ago, received results about 60 days later, and just this week received an additional report on breast cancer gene variants.

For those that poopoo the value of genetic testing, my wife’s sister was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  She underwent genetic testing and was found to have the BR-CA2 variant - which meant there’s a 50% chance that my wife has the variant — and then, if my wife has it, a 50%!chance that our wonderful 18 yr old daughter has it.  Having the variant boosts lifetime probability of having breast cancer from about 12% to as high as 84% (just going from memory).

To test or not to test?  What to do upon getting a positive result?  With a positive BR-CA2, medical professionals recommend courses of action as extreme as mastectomy and hysterectomy.

23andMe currently only offers 8 reports in their Genetic Health Risk category whereas years ago they had reports for dozens more.

I have no idea as to the details between 23andMe and the FDA that still limits which reports they can make available to their customers.

GrillSgt

Gulfcoastguy said:

They actually just added some more health reports.  Guess the FDA backed off. The FDA is too conservative anyway. My younger sister had a hole in her heart. The only FDA approved repair involved full on open heart surgery. Her surgeon was from Italy. He got the insurance company to approve a method that they had been using many years. He just ran a tube through a vein and attached a plug that opened like one of the paper umbrellas used in fancy drinks. As to medical odds, sometimes the dice come up snake eyes.

Yes I know of several cases similar. 

caliking

Gulfcoastguy said:

YukonRon said:

Is this the new Astrology via Facebook,  which potentially provides data for people looking for you, for whatever purpose? Personal data, is similar to any other type of collection; It becomes data that can be sold.

This is not for me for only about a million reasons.

Yes, I wear an aluminum foil wrapped colander on my head, to keep the government from reading my thoughts, in case you were concerned.

I do not need a DNA test to tell me the percentages of me being fat, ugly, slow, drunk, stupid and lazy. I have checked those boxes, multiple times, daily, beginning years ago.

I have a handle on what I am.

And nobody is forcing you to take a gene test. Others have valid reasons to take it. For instance I needed to know how likely it was that I could come down with macular degeneration or Alzheimer’s.

What would you have done differently if you had a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s or macular degeneration?

Gulfcoastguy

Invest in long term medical care insurance. 

caliking

Gulfcoastguy said:

Invest in long term medical care insurance. 

I see. What about the myriad of other things , besides MD and Alzheimer’s, that can result in long term disability? 

Gulfcoastguy

My Doctor has already advised my that my most likely cause of death will be a hemorrhagic stroke. While painful initially it has the advantage of being extremely quick.

caliking

For your sake, I hope you’re both right about that probability. 

Toxarch

A buddy found out he has a half sister thanks to one of those tests, I THINK it was Ancestry. His father never knew about her and she had been put up for adoption. She had found her birth mother but she would not say who the father was and never listed one. She did the ancestry test and all they would give her was the name of a deceased grandmother. She started digging and came up with the name of the most likely man to be her father. She went to the birth mother with the name and it was confirmed. She contacted the father, they did a paternity test and it was confirmed. He found out he has a 47 year old daughter and another grandson. All the family welcomed her. Turned out he had gotten 2 girls pregnant at the same time and he married the one that told him she was pregnant. The other girl kept the pregnancy and adoption a secret.

GrillSgt

The wife’s came in today. She is from the maritime province of Prince Edward Island Canada. Up until 30 years ago PEI was quite Euro white except for a fair size colony of Lebanese. The island was originally settled by the French (Acadian) who were largely chased to Louisiana (Cajun). Chased by the Scots and later settled by Irish. Her DNA showed the she was 68% Scot-Irish, 31% French and 1% Native. It also showed that her DNA was present in the Acadian exodus. Pretty spot on. 

GrillSgt

So I’m going to take a guess at mine. Paternal grandfather Prussian which will probably show as German. Paternal grandmother Irish. Both were 1880ish immigrants. Maternal grandfather was British but mid 1700s so I’m guessing quite a mix. Maternal grandmother no idea but I always suspected some African heritage. 

Gulfcoastguy

Did she test in 23 and me or some other? 23 and me seems to lump all of the British isles into one group.

GrillSgt

Ancestry.com

GrillSgt

They have the largest DNA database by like 10fold. We weren’t interested in anything else but it is providing her with 1st-3rd cousins, possibly more. 

Gulfcoastguy

I might try Ancestry.com eventually but I hear Living DNA. Com is the best breakdown of the British Isles which is the big question that I have left.

Gulfcoastguy

Btw, how did this get sunk? There weren’t any arguments about guns or politics?