Questions on genetic testing services
Article Abstract:
The National Institutes of Health's Task Force on Genetic Testing will develop criteria for companies and laboratories that are marketing genetic testing. Among the genetic defects suitable for testing are the APOE4 gene that increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and the BRCA1 gene involved in hereditary breast cancer. A 1994 survey of 594 for-profit and 425 nonprofit labs found that many are using their own reagents and are bypassing government regulations. Many are not participating in voluntary programs to insure testing proficiency. Many physicians are unprepared to interpret such tests and may not have any treatment options to offer people who test positive. A positive test does not mean that the person will develop the disease and a negative test does not necessarily rule it out. In addition, some insurance companies may exclude people who have tested positive for a genetic disorder.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1995
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Revitalized AHCPR pursues research on quality
Article Abstract:
The US Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) continues to work with groups of physicians nationwide to collect data on which medical treatments work and which do not. The data are published as practice guidelines, which physicians can use to determine the best treatment for patients. The agency itself published these guidelines until angry surgeons convinced Congress to cut its budget after it published guidelines in 1995 stating that surgery was unnecessary for back pain. Now the agency works with 12 evidence-based practice centers, which will collect the data and publish the guidelines.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1997
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Pentagon-funded research takes aim at agents of biological warfare
Article Abstract:
The US Department of Defense began to take biological and chemical weapons seriously after the attack on a Tokyo subway by a religious sect in 1995. The DOD's funding agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began funding research on the development of mechanisms to deal with these kinds of attacks or prevent them altogether. The projects include sensors to detect infectious organisms in the environment, diagnostic techniques to identify people exposed and drugs and vaccines to prevent illness in exposed persons.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1997
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