纽约时报关于DNA 个人检测的最新报道
{http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/nyregion/13dna.html?ref=health}On the Retail Frontier, Another Shop in SoHo for the Person Who Has Everything
Michael Hall said he was in SoHo on Saturday to do what people do in SoHo: meet friends, have a meal, browse the galleries and boutiques. But along the way, he stumbled upon something completely different — a storefront offering to analyze his genes.
Mr. Hall, a visitor from Switzerland, was immediately intrigued when he walked into the showroom set up on Greene Street by Navigenics, a California company that recently started selling genetic scans. He said he was curious about his risk of getting the type of cancer that killed his grandparents, but he was not in a hurry to pay the going rate for the information.
For a fee of $2,500, Navigenics will use a saliva sample to analyze a person’s DNA and gauge the risk of contracting one of 18 conditions, including breast cancer, a heart attack and Alzheimer’s disease, company officials said. After that, the company will charge $250 a year to provide updates based on the latest findings about those and other illnesses.
Navigenics is the latest entrant into the new field of genetic testing for consumers. A handful of other companies already offer to take samples of customers’ DNA and extract information about their ancestry and their susceptibility to certain diseases.
But the juxtaposition of the storefront where the concept was being marketed, across a cobblestone street from the boutique Kiki de Montparnasse, whose mannequins were outfitted in hot-pink lingerie, was a bit of a surprise to some passers-by.
“What I’m sort of hearing from the people walking by is, ‘I’d rather not,’ ” said Dr. Perry Starer, who lives in Greenwich Village.
Despite his training in geriatric medicine, Dr. Starer, 53, said he had little interest in his own genetic makeup and was skeptical about the benefits of knowing more. “I know what my father died of, and I know how my mother’s behaving,” Dr. Starer said. Beyond that, he said, he did not see how learning that he might have a higher-than-average risk of contracting Alzheimer’s disease, for example, would affect his lifestyle.
“I would say, live your life as if you might get any one of these diseases,” he said. “The choice you’re going to make is healthy living.”
Some medical experts have warned that DNA testing may provide consumers with more detailed information than they can wisely use. And some critics have noted the advice that Navigenics or any other genetic analyst might provide to try to ward off certain diseases would in most cases involve the obvious: a proper diet and regular exercise.
But Raju Kucherlapati, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, said he believed that knowing what might lie ahead could transform American health care by motivating patients and doctors to shift resources from treating illnesses to preventing them.
“This is just the beginning of a wave of information that is going to be made available to patients,” Dr. Kucherlapati said.
After paying the initial fee, a customer receives a kit that includes a vial to be filled with saliva and shipped overnight to a laboratory. Within a few weeks, the customer can log on to the Navigenics Web site and read a secure report that rates the likelihood of contracting any of 18 conditions for which there is a medically accepted strategy for prevention, said Amy DuRoss, the company’s head of policy and business affairs.
The company has been authorized to sell the service to residents of every state except New York, Ms. DuRoss said. New York residents must join a waiting list until state health officials license the company’s designated lab to provide services to New Yorkers.
Even if that regulatory hurdle had been cleared, Ms. DuRoss said she doubted that the company would have invited customers to provide saliva samples on the spot. “It’s a little awkward to ask people to spit in public,” Ms. DuRoss said. “It’s a very private thing.”
Prospective customers can sign up for the service at the SoHo storefront or on the company’s Web site. The store, which is intended to increase public awareness of the testing, is open until Friday.
Privacy is a key concern, as is the fear of how insurance companies might use the information if they got it, said Melissa Floren, the head of business development for Navigenics. The company provides copies of the reports that customers can share with their doctors, but advises that they should be kept out of medical files.
New as the idea is, genetic testing clearly appeals to some people, especially those who are young.
Robinson Muir, 20, a St. John’s University student who is from Seattle, wandered into the Navigenics storefront with a skateboard in one hand. He said his interest was piqued by firsthand evidence that a healthy lifestyle does not guarantee long life.
“Members of my family do yoga and surf every day,” and still have a history of dying young from heart problems, Mr. Muir said.
His curiosity began to wane when he heard that Navigenics was charging $2,500. “Whew, that’s a steep price,” he said.
“It would be nice to know, I guess,” Mr. Muir said. Then again, he wondered, “Is it going to turn us all into hypochondriacs?”
在SoHo商业零售街道，一家新的商店，即使什么都有的人也可去看看
Michael Hall说，他星期六在SoHo，象其他人一样：会友，就餐，欣赏各种展览和精品店。但在逛街时，他突然发现了新的不一样的地方——一家提供个人基因分析的店面。
Hall先生是来自瑞士的游客，当他Navigenics公司建立在Greene 街上在进入陈列室，立即激起了他的兴趣，Navigenics是加利福尼亚州一家公司，近来开始开展基因检测服务。他说，他想知道自己得肿瘤的风险，他的祖父母死于这肿瘤，但他并不急于马上就做。
检测费用是一次$2,500, Navigenics将用唾液作为标本，分析个人DNA，然后估计得18种疾病的风险，包括，乳腺癌，心梗，阿尔茨海默氏病，公司工作人员说。以后，公司将每年收费250$,根据最新的进展，为患者对这些和其他病症的数据进行更新。
Navigenics 是最近进入这个基因检测新领域的公司。此前，已经有数家公司可对DNA进行提取，分析家系信息，疾病易感受性预测的服务。
但在这商业区，在鹅卵石街的两旁，一边是Montparnasse的 Kiki 精品店，模特儿穿着深粉红色内衣，另一边是基因检测公司的店铺，让路人感受到有些奇怪。
“我听到人们走过时常常说，‘我宁愿不’“，Perry Starer博士说，他住在Greenwich 村。
Starer医生，今年53岁，尽管他是研究老年医学的，但他对自己的基因不感兴趣，并对基因检测的用处有怀疑。“我知道我的父亲死于什么病，我知道我母亲的身体情况，”Starer医生说。进一步，他说，假如他有高于平均水平的风险的机率得阿尔茨海默氏病，他并不认为对他的生活有影响。
他说“我想说的是，计划你的生活，假设你可能会得其中任何一种疾病，你要做的事情是选择健康的生活。”
一些医学专家提醒，DNA检测可能提供疾病分析以外更详细的信息。一些人也指责Navigenics 或其他基因检测公司对大多数人提供的建议本来就是大家熟悉的，如正常饮食和定期锻炼。
但是哈佛大学基因学教授， Raju Kucherlapati持反对意见，他相信，如果知道可能得什么疾病，可以使病人和医生把重心从疾病的治疗转向预防为主。
Kucherlapati 博士说：“有可能提供给患者的信息波浪才刚刚开始。”
公司业务和政策Amy DuRoss说，付了初始费用后，顾客会收到一个盒子，包括一个装唾液的小瓶，然后连夜寄向实验室。数周这内，顾客可以登陆Navigenics网站，阅读一个安全的报告，对18种疾病的可能性的评估，同时也有一个医疗界公认的疾病的预防计划。
DuRoss 说：公司允许向纽约以外的其他州的居民提供服务。纽约居民必须等，直到州卫生官员批准公司指定的实验室为纽约人提供服务。
DuRoss说，即使已没有常规的的阻碍，她也怀疑公司会邀请顾客在到现场，“公共场所，要求人吐唾液是不合适的，这是非常私人的事情。”
有意向的顾客可以SoHo街的店铺或公司网站登记。商店为了增加公众对基因检测的了解，一直营业到周五。
Navigenics的业务发展主管Melissa Floren说，担心保险公司如果得到以后，可能会利用这些信息，隐私性就成一个关键因素，公司为顾客提供报告的拷贝,以便于他们的医生共同了解，但建议这不应该把它放入他们的医疗的档案。
因为这很有新意，基因检测也受到一些人的欢迎，特别是一些年轻人。
Robinson Muir,20岁，圣约翰大学学生，来自西雅图，一手拿着滑板，逛入了Navigenics 商店。他说他对基因检测感觉兴趣是因为他有直接证据表明健康的生活并不能保证长命。
“我们家人每天都做瑜珈和冲浪运动，”但仍然有人年纪轻轻就死于心脏问题。
但当他知道需要$2,500时，他的好奇心开始消逝，。“这不是一个小数目。”他惊呼。
Muir先生说：“我猜，知道基因结果会非常美妙。”然后，他又说：“这是否会让我们都进入疑病症（癔病）患者。”
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