A hedge fund manager and his wife are using their sequenced genomes to guide their efforts to stay in good health, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Leo, the hedge fund manager who is only identified by his first name, had been watching the genomic space for some time and as sequencing fell into the $1,000 range, he got in touch with WorldClinic's Dan Carlin, the Tribune says. Carlin recommended that Leo and his wife use Genomics Personalized Health's service, which sequences DNA obtained from customers' saliva samples. Once the couple got their results, Carlin sent them to Brandon Colby, a physician and geneticist — and author — to have their results interpreted.
According to the Tribune the couple knew that they could learn that they are at risk for conditions they can't do anything about, but that they could also learn about their risk of preventable diseases. Both Lee and his wife have an increased risk for developing heart disease, according to their results — his wife has a variant that suggests she is at risk for Long QT Syndrome. They've also learned they have increased risk for macular degeneration, multiple sclerosis, and osteoporosis.
But, the Tribune notes, these interpretations are as long as good as the research backing them up. As heart disease has been well studied, Leo and his wife now have a plan to mitigate their risk for that, while also taking steps to try to prevent the other conditions they are at risk of developing. Leo's wife had baseline EKG performed and both are eating more leafy greens and are taking vitamin supplements.
"Genomics has reached a point," Colby tells the Tribune, "where we can use a patient's genetic information to personalize health care and lifestyle. We now have the ability to outsmart our genes to protect our health and longevity."