STAT News
Sharon Begley
April 7, 2017
The genetic testing company 23andMe received approval this week from regulators to sell genetic reports on an individual’s risk for 10 diseases, most prominently Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Before you send in your saliva sample and $199, here’s what you should know:
What will a genetic test actually tell me?
At most, that you carry a DNA variant that, according to research, is associated with a higher risk of a disease. For the rare clotting disorder hereditary thrombophilia, for instance, the report will say that you do or do not carry a variant called Factor V Leiden in the F5 gene and a variant called Prothrombin G20210A in the F2 gene.