Ms. Marcus's article raises real and relevant concerns for carriers of a small percentage of genetic diseases. Carriers of most genetic disorders, however, typically exhibit no symptoms and it's thought that many may actually achieve beneficial health externalities as a result of their carrier status.
Nevertheless the findings presented may lead to serious concerns in light of the emerging unregulated personal genomic industry that provides detailed genetic information to its customers. Without proper guidance and context, consumers of personal genomics products that now find themselves to be carriers of a disease might either become overly concerned regarding a benign carrier status, or alternatively, complacent in the face of some of the more detrimental carrier genes highlighted in her article.
Unpublished letter in response to:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704160504574640621141065600.html
Discovering the Unseen Risks of Genetic Diseases
WSJ, Amy Marcus, 2/14/2010
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