Can’t help wondering if the real draw of personalised medicine is not so much “you are predestined to get sick but we can help” as “you are in the market segment that can better tolerate this troublingly toxic pharmaceutical we’d like to sell”
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More likely "you're going to cost us a lot of money in the future, so best we head that off by reducing our investment in you now, since we know you're going to be a burden". Like the DNR orders we got slapped with during early COVID without our consent.
jun 22, 2025, 1:57 pm • 2 0 • view
Also means we deflect from the pressure to solve more expensive problems like poor housing.
jun 21, 2025, 10:10 am • 2 0 • view
Genomic testing might not change prevention advice, but it does change risk factors. Very useful for calculating insurance premiums.
jun 21, 2025, 10:00 am • 11 0 • view
Ho, hum 🙄
jun 21, 2025, 7:19 pm • 1 0 • view
How handy for the pro-insurance crypto-fascist this government appears to be warming the bed for.
jun 22, 2025, 7:04 am • 4 0 • view
bsky.app/profile/davi...
jun 23, 2025, 3:10 pm • 5 3 • view
I agree with you up to this point. It has been massively overhyped and helps ppl ignore other factors and public health measures. But there are *some* use cases where it means we can predict (to an extent) when someone either won't respond or will get toxicity so give them something else.
jun 21, 2025, 11:47 am • 1 0 • view
Someone sent me an interesting paper about IV gentamicin and possible genetic disposition to ototocity in newborns - but that was a highly targetted test being done at point of care (without delaying treatment) which is a v different scenario from blanket genomics. Interested in other example papers
jun 22, 2025, 7:08 am • 1 0 • view
Yes def targetted tests (not whole genome) can be useful for drug metabolising enzymes and transporters because these influence the plasma concentration of drug which in turn determines whether the effect is beneficial or toxic (or non-existent). eg bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
jun 22, 2025, 9:05 am • 1 0 • view
However... these enzymes and transporters are also strongly influenced by many non-genetic factors - I co-authored a scoping review on this in relation to supposed inter-ethnic differences. doi.org/10.1002/prp2... And I don't think we really know the relative importance of these clinically.
jun 22, 2025, 9:09 am • 1 0 • view
That’s all fantastically helpful - thank you!
jun 22, 2025, 9:24 am • 0 0 • view
Thank you, very informative. There is little benefit in knowing genetic propensity. Targeted medicine OTOH saves lives. Streeting won't put more resource into that. His backers don't make money that way. One sleazy neoliberal Govt after another all putting Corporate interests above the public. 🤕
jun 21, 2025, 4:29 pm • 0 0 • view
Or first in line for assisted dying as we don't want you to suffer..
jun 21, 2025, 10:13 am • 2 0 • view
I suppose he could have asked National Screening Committee first. All screening is harmful some has benefits some benefits can outweigh harms and if you’re lucky it could be a good use of scarce NHS resources.
jun 21, 2025, 8:58 pm • 0 0 • view
Or, if they introduce health insurance model to UK: "sorry that condition is excluded from your insurance" ( because the data WILL get into the wrong hands.
jun 22, 2025, 7:54 am • 3 0 • view
Precisely
jun 22, 2025, 8:02 am • 0 0 • view