I’m sure that you missed my little tidbits and diatribes. I have been busy, but haven’t forgotten ya’ll.
Recent Research below! Things to note. Family history beats genetics (if your family had it, you may also get it) and high “genetic risk” does not mean high risk. Does that seem odd/contradictory? What if lifestyle trumps genetics quite often?
The MDs looking at this are thinking about how this will customize drug prescriptions, but research has already revealed that something as obvious as eating broccoli can turn genes on and off and prevent cancer! That one’s a hard sell though, for some people.
Below, quoted from Medscape
”A lot has changed since 2004 (since genetic typing has started). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have demonstrated genetic associations in a wide variety of diseases and disorders, including Crohn’s disease, many cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, as well as genetic influences on response to medications. How can a patient or a healthcare provider choose between family history and genomic screening? Which is more dependable? Which yields more valuable information?
Judging by the reports and studies above, a family history of disease risk is supported by genomic results roughly half the time, suggesting the involvement of other genes and/or single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) yet undetected, or perhaps of environmental effects.
Conversely, the somewhat puzzling lack of disease in many patients whose genomic scan indicates high risk may simply represent our ignorance of genetic interactions. For example, a risk gene might be present, but so are other genes that afford protection or that inhibit expression of the potentially harmful variant. Because these protective genes were also inherited, the absence of disease in their family history is understandable.”
Further comments from Dr. Rik
Family history is NOT just genetics, it’s also what you learn from your family. If you eat junk and smoke because they did…if you eat broccoli and hit the gym because they did? Got it? of course you do …. Which means that you might be less ignorant of “genetic interactions” than some published MDs. LOL!
