The DNA Doctor Consultation Of the Future With a Full Patient Sequence in Hand (Video)

This is a great video and will make you think about how we handle patient DNA information along side clinical information.  Is this the way of future consults?  DNA information is certainly helpful but this video kind of explores both sides of this and the decision making processes that may come up in discussion. 

If you go back a ways to the first 20 individuals to be totally sequenced their observations and reactions to the information given was interesting.  It did not generate any big earth shattering changes but some went and had certain items checked out, like an early warning.  The doctor says here some of the information cannot be changed as it’s in the genes, but the topic of a cholesterol drug is interesting being recommended. 

DNA Doctor

Here’s a couple links below with those who were part of the original 20 people who were sequenced:

Steven Pinker, Harvard Professor of Psychology talks about his genome, what he found out, what he learned, and how the psychological interpretations are somewhat still up for discussion

 

Below is a group of videos at the link that tells the story of how it all came together along with what the participants had to say as well, great videos and you can hear about about Francis Collins, current director of the NIH on how the code was cracked.    The cartoon uses real voices and is well done:)  BD

Personal Genome Project – Webisodes on How It All Came Together

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Again the cartoon video pretty much covers what we may be experiencing soon in our doctor visits when DNA information combined with clinical. 

 

This is not science fiction. Already, in a few early-adopting venues, doctors are having their patients’ entire genomes — all their DNA — sequenced, as part of their care. In the coming months, starting small, a few dozen Boston patients will also enter the futuristic world of genomic medicine.

Last fall, a team based mainly at Brigham & Women’s Hospital won a nearly $10-million grant to determine how whole-genome sequencing can be used in the clinic. I asked Dr. Isaac Kohane, the team’s co-director among other titles, to help us imagine what it will look like in practice when a doctor has a patient’s full set of DNA in hand. He kindly collaborated on the script and voicing of the 5-minute cartoon video above. (Yes, it features real human voices, not those annoying text-to-speech robots!)

http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/04/dna-doctor