Arrowman

Here in Adelaide we have a regular talkback radio show on the subject of "natural therapies" etc. The guy who runs it manages to sound quite convincing (he mentions "the latest research" a lot) and not at all "fringe" or "nutty". And not everything he says is outright quackery - this is probably the most dangerous thing about him!

(I also doubt that his audience knows he has commercial arrangements with some of the companies whose products he mentions all the time, but that's another story.)

Anyway - the other day, I caught a fragment of the show in which he was talking about some new thing coming out of the US - genetic profiling and tailoring of therapies. In other words, "they'll take a sample of saliva or whatever, analyse your genetic profile, and then they'll be able to tailor your vitamins and other supplements to suit you."

Hmmmm. But what made me laugh out loud (and nearly lose control of the car in the process ) was this - he said that (I paraphrase here....)

What's really interesting about this, is that the company in question didn't approach "allotropic" medical companies [by which I presume he means drug companies which base their research and development on science] - they've decided to work with the natural medicine companies - which is exciting because it demonstrates the increasing credibility of natural medicine...

- Or it could demonstrate that the company in question knew they'd have no chance of sneaking their quackery past a scientific audience and in fact it is an indictment of the credibility of natural medicine companies....

So I looked them up. I didn't catch the company name, but based on a quick Net search I think he's referring to GeneLink:
<a href="http://www.bankdna.com/" target="_blank">http://www.bankdna.com/</a>
<a href="http://www.windowstowallstreet.com/comp_profile.php?idi=37" target="_blank">http://www.windowstowallstreet.com/comp_profile.php?idi=37</a>

In particular, I quote from their company profile (my emphasis):

GeneLink has recently created a breakthrough methodology for 'genetic profiling' (patents pending) and is beginning to license these proprietary assessments to companies that manufacture or market to the $100 Billion plus nutraceutical, personal care, skin care, and weight-loss industries.

GeneLink's innovative Nutragenetic & Dermagenetic Profiles now offer companies the information they need to create and sell more effective products - unique wellness and 'quality of life' products tailored to their customer's individual needs - based on the science of genetics.

No longer will people be forced to speculate, guess or use trial and error to determine which nutritional supplements or skin-care products are best for them. For the first time, by simply swabbing the inside of mouth (using GeneLink's Patented Collection Kit) and sending the collected sample to GeneLink's laboratories - people can be directed to personalized products - specifically formulated to help compensate for predicted deficiencies.

OK, It looks plausible, but then again - it seems to me that while genetic profiling is increasingly in use to ascertain the susceptibility of an individual to certain disorders, and it is plausible that medical treatments could be tailored on that basis,

(a) Aren't we a long way from the sort of precision envisaged / required by the GeneLink approach - and/or how much better is "genetic analysis" than conventional diagnosis when it comes to determineing skin care needs, for crying out loud?; and

(b) Why do GeneLink place so much emphasis on working with "wellness providers"? Why not all medical services, conventional and otherwise? Why couldn't we tailor drug treatments as well as "natural treatments"? It makes me doubt the legitimacy of their approach; and makes me suspect that they are targeting the audience they think they will get the most success from.

Am I being overly cynical/skeptical here? Does anyone have any inside knowledge or educated opinion on this? How much of this is legitimate science/medicine, and how much is pure entrepreneurship?

[ June 18, 2002: Message edited by: Arrowman ]</p>