From Gareth Roberts, Sciona Ltd
We read your story about over-the-counter gene tests with initial interest that was followed by a sense of despondency at the misleading and selective nature of its facts and reporting (23 November, p 42).
There is a well-founded molecular and chemical basis to our knowledge of the role of nutrients in body chemistry, a body of literature that seems unfamiliar to many of the experts whom you quote (see www.sciona.com for further reading). This body of data indicates a way to achieve health benefits which are significantly more profound than that indicated by the throwaway comments – “everyone should eat up their greens” – concerning testing for variants of the enzyme methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), and its implications for increasing folic acid intake.
Recent studies indicating the size and robust nature of genetic/nutritional interactions are well documented in the literature. For example, David Wald and his team examined 92 studies, based on 20,000 individuals, and report that they all indicate “lowering homocysteine concentrations by 3 micromoles per litre from current levels (achievable by increasing folic acid intake) would reduce the risk of ischaemic heart disease by 16 per cent” (British Medical Journal, vol 325, p 1202). Other studies conclude that “characterisation of such gene polymorphisms will enable targeting of nutritional advice and treatment to ‘at risk’ groups” (British Medical Journal, vol 324, p 1438). This substantive piece of work by Wald and others would be a surprise to anyone reading your phrase “critics point to a mountain of conflicting or inconclusive findings”.
In conducting our business we have consulted widely with regulatory bodies and ethicists in both Europe and the US, and with technologists and scientists. We believe our service reflects these attempts to match best practice anywhere on the face of the globe.
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Havant, Hampshire, UK
