PREDICTIVE GENETIC TESTING
Do You Really Want to Know Your Future?

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Program Summary

Producer: Kathy McAnally
Aired Beginning: November 1998

If you were destined to live with a horrible disease, would you want to know now? Would you want to know, for example, that because your family carries a particular gene you are likely to contract Huntington's disease, an incurable condition that devastates both mind and body? It's the kind of question more and more of us are having to face. This program offers an overview of predictive genetic testing. You'll learn which diseases it currently targets, the testing techniques, the reliability of those tests, and, most important of all, what is achievable once the results are obtained.

In only a very small percentage of diseases is the gene the ruler - the unequivocal dictator that determines the onset of the condition. Nonetheless, predictive genetic tests are becoming increasingly available. There are companies that offer a test for the gene that identifies a possible predisposition for breast cancer. And researchers are coming up with ways to look for genes related to cardiovascular disease, asthma, osteoporosis, obesity, depression, stroke, and pulmonary disease. If scientists identify these genes, and companies come up with tests to identify them in you, what will you do with that information? Maybe you'll find it helpful in preparing for the likely debilitation of yourself or a family member. If you're lucky, some treatment will be available, or a lifestyle change might make a difference in your prognosis.

Often, however, there is absolutely nothing that can be done to treat the disease, and having the genetic information creates a tremendous psychological burden for entire families.

This program introduces us to people whose family history has compelled them to decide whether to undergo genetic testing. You'll hear, first-hand, how families have dealt with Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's. And you'll find out how tests for colon cancer and breast cancer are viewed by health care providers, by scientists, and by representatives of the companies that are busy developing genetic tests.

The issues are difficult - and pressing, as the pace of genetic research advances rapidly. In the near future, a predisposition for many more diseases will be identifiable through genetic testing. Will treatment and cure keep up with prediction? Do you really want to know your destiny?

Last Updated: July 2004