Looking for answers about your risk for ailments commonly linked to heredity? Don't bother with direct-to-consumer test kits, advises a report from United States Government Accountability Office, a research arm of Congress. (Illustration by John Alvin, The Fresno Bee.)
The agency recently tested kits from four companies, priced at $299 to $999 per test. The agency received "test results that are misleading and of little or no practical use." For one set of identical samples, different test kits showed "below-average, average, and above-average risk for prostate cancer and hypertension."
The agency also cited "egregious" deception in how the kits were marketed, such as touting the ability to "repair damaged DNA" or cure disease -- capabilities that no such testing kids can provide. The agency did not name the products tested.
-Charles Piller
Reports from the Bee's investigative team
July 23, 2010
Categories: Government in-action, On your guard
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