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DNA Helix: http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/00775/global%20ge.html
With genetic sequencing and expression analysis advancing at an alarmingly rapid pace, the idea of personalized medicine is not necessarily that far off the horizon. I am sure you have heard in the news that personalized medicine is the wave of the future but how soon and what are the stumbling blocks? Medicine has advanced in that direction with targeted therapies for cancer, immune disorders and even cardiovascular disease.
However, is your practicing clinician really ready to accept the idea that by sequencing your genome and understanding specific expression patterns they can provide a personalized preventative and management strategy to address your overall health? While this may be 5 to 10 years down the line, the first signs have been seen with genetic markers for cancer diagnosis, risk assessment and management as well as a variety of other disease states. Yet, practicing clinicians have a lot on their plate, seeing patients back to back, remaining educated on the latest and greatest, understanding new medical devices and pharmaceutical approaches and managing their practice and/or research efforts. Do busy practices really have time for personalized medicine?
While researchers and thought leading experts are beginning to understand the basis of disease processes due to advancing technologies, this is going to be inevitable but the time frame of acceptance by the general practicing community will take much longer. At this point, technology is advancing so fast that the technology is out performing the capabilities of researchers and while many are expanding their research capabilities, they have not even touched on the potential of these devices.
Direct to consumer DNA analysis companies have touched on these capabilities by providing consumers directly their genetic make-up but these companies are providing only a small snapshot of your overall health and many of the genetic markers they are assessing includes information you can get from a good physical examination and personal history from your general practitioner. They are also not ordered by your practicing clinician and often have confusing results that don’t tell you much. However, these companies are just on the cusp of where medicine is headed, even though they may not be the providers of such genetic information.
Several other companies have developed diagnostic tools for identifying patients with a higher risk of particular cancers and those who would benefit from more aggressive treatment as well as potential responses to treatment protocols or drug regimens. These companies are helping to streamline treatment more effectively. However, they do not come cheap and there are strict criteria set in place to prevent overuse and unnecessary testing.
While these tests are available, even thought leading experts have not fully embraced these diagnostic approaches and general clinical practitioners are not always aware that these tests are available. So, it is hard to say if the general practicing community would be willing to adopt personalized medicine, when early signs point to the slow adoption rate across a variety of therapeutic categories.
However, advances in genetic sequencing and expression analysis are here and will continue to grow relatively quickly advancing our understanding of our genetic makeup and change the way practicing clinicians approach disease diagnosis, risk assessment and management. Yet, getting past the stumbling blocks in the general practicing community will be the hurdle that these technologies and researchers face for widespread use in everyday medical practice.
For more info: Wikipedia information on personalized medicine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personalized_medicine; Mayo Clinic information on personalized medicine: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/personalized-medicine/CA00078
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