Outsmart Your Genes

Posted by author Brandon Colby, MD

I was born with a genetic disease. It is a very rare disease that causes my skin to be extremely sensitive to increased heat and friction. Anything – friction on my feet caused by running or friction on my hands caused by gripping the handle of a tennis racquet, for example – that raises my skin temperature causes painful blisters that then need to be lanced with a scalpel, which could cause potentially serious infections. Although my form of the disease is not as severe as others, it was, nevertheless, both physically and emotionally distressing for me as a child.

As a young child, I remember asking my parents why I was different from all the other kids, and their answer was that I was different because of my genes. As a result, genetics has always been quite personal to me. Long before I was a physician, I was a patient, and I am very aware of the struggles that can result from carrying a defective gene. It is because of this that I have made it my life’s mission to find ways for us to conquer disease by outsmarting our genes.

Throughout my career I’ve devoted myself to pioneering the revolutionary field of predictive medicine, which empowers people with proactive, personalized prevention based upon their genes. I wrote Outsmart Your Genes, a nontechnical, easy-to-read layperson’s guide to predictive medicine, to convey the immense power this new field of medicine has to protect you and your children against disease. If you have ever been interested in how you can prevent a wide range of diseases, including diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and autism, as well as rare diseases like sickle cell disease, Tay-Sachs, cystic fibrosis, SIDS, and many other causes of sudden death, or if you’ve ever been curious about how the genetic revolution applies right now to you as an individual, Outsmart Your Genes will provide you with those answers.

The field of genetic testing recently made headline news when Walgreens announced it would start to offer over-the-counter (OTC) genetic tests, thus sparking a controversy that resulted in the FDA putting a hold on such sales until the agency had time to evaluate the test further. Shortly after the FDA announcement, Congress launched an investigation into a number of companies that have been providing direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing over the Internet. While I am pleased that the media attention has raised public awareness about these tests, as a practicing physician I do not advocate OTC or DTC genetic testing.

For one thing, these services usually bypass the physician while providing medical information that is sometimes difficult to understand directly to the consumer. For another, the information they provide deals primarily with risk assessment and not with personalized prevention. While they may inform you of your risk for disease X, Y, and Z, they stop there and do not provide any personalized information about what exactly you can do with that foreknowledge to lower your risk. Thus, the DTC and OTC approach completely misses the true value of learning about your genes – the fact that you and your physician can use that information to prevent disease in your future.

Predictive medicine makes much better use of genetic testing because it arms both you and your physician with the information you need to proactively prevent the diseases to which you are found to be genetically predisposed. Predictive medicine focuses not on risk but on empowerment through prevention. Throughout Outsmart Your Genes I describe the many specific ways that predictive medicine can protect you and your children against a large number of diseases.

In light of this revolution in medicine, it is important to note that at the end of May 2010, a new act called the the Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act of 2010 (HR 5440) was introduced into Congress. This new act would create an Office of Personalized Healthcare within the US Department of Health and Human Services whose specific focus would be on the integration of genetic technology into medicine. The passage of this new act would be an endorsement by the government of the immense clinical and financial value of integrating the new field of predictive medicine throughout our entire health care system. In Outsmart Your Genes I describe exactly how this can be accomplished right now and how you and your family can benefit from this technology today.

The future of medicine truly starts today. If you are curious in learning more about predictive medicine and the genetic revolution, Outsmart Your Genes is for you!

Brandon Colby, MD, is a world leader in the field of predictive medicine, a groundbreaking medical specialty that focuses on the personalized prevention of disease based upon your genes. The primary goal of predictive medicine is to use genetic technology to empower you to fight back and protect yourself against disease before it ever manifests. Dr. Colby is the Medical Director of Existence Health, a predictive medicine private practice based in Los Angeles, and the founder and CEO of Existence Genetics, a company that provides health care professionals with access to cutting edge predictive medicine services. For more information, please visit www.outsmartyourgenes.com.

 

Outsmart Your Genes 

Comments

[Amy Fromer]

The information presented by Dr. Colby is truly amazing and most informative.
I never thought of medicine in this way before but preventive medicine, as Dr. Colby explains is the way we should now
think about our health. This enlightening approach truly makes sense and is of utmost importance for all of us.
Thank you Dr. Colby. I'm waiting to learn more from you and I will definitly order, "Outsmart Your Genes".