Sunday, December 13, 2015

Genetic Testing for Tomorrow's Sports Superstars?




Many genetic tests are claiming that they can determine whether your child are athletically gifted. 
Acccording to a joint statement by an international panel of 22 experts in the fields of genomics, disease and sports performance published the British Journal of Sports Medicine, these tests basically have no true value. They claim this type of genetic predictions are not available yet. The scientists looked at 39 companies offering the test to determine their potential. More than half 
of them did not disclose any information on the genes they would analyze. The most popular genetic variants tests were ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D, both of which have been linked to endurance and power performance. 

The National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health explained how the FDA has the authority to regulate genetic testing but has done so sparingly. For example the FDA targeted a company called 23andMe in November 2013, ordering them to stop marking their personal genome service. This service provided a health report on 254 disease and conditions. This year the FDA is starting to ease up on these companies like 23andMe. They eased up for those companies who are looking to determine which parents might be carriers of Bloom Syndrome. 23andMe conducted studies to demonstrate the accuracy and usabilities of this test. However, the scientists are still working on ways to analyze our human genome in order to decode our DNA. Maybe one day, with these advances, scientists can look into a child's future.

I think this type of research is very important. Not only to see if your child is going to be athletic or not but because with this same type of genetic analysis of children that will predict future diseases. Of course, it would still be awesome to know what type of sport to get your child involved in as a youngster. At some point, if they perfect these types of studies, they can predict future diseases which will allow for early treatment. 

Below is a link to the website for the company, 23andMe. 
https://www.23andme.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search-Beta-Genetic&utm_content=23c_Search_Paid_Generic&gclid=CjwKEAiAy7SzBRD_lv7quOnr6XUSJAAOLkW6DVoomHArIBrYWwOj--oBDdN4JDw_a5CwhXi_Zx89hxoCk3zw_wcB

1 comment:

  1. Im interested in what they find in their further testing. It would be awesome to be able to predict whether or not our children will have any diseases

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