Tuesday, January 25, 2011

David Agus - The Gen-reader

David Agus has declared the fight against cancer and sees the solution in the genes. The individual genetic analysis will allow tailored therapies and make tumors curable. For the renowned oncologist at the University of Southern California, cancer is an enemy that you can only beat the sharpest weapons and the means of most modern medical technology.

David Agus analyzed for the genotype of patients at risk and is searching for biomarkers. Only then, he is convinced, can be developed tailored cancer therapies. And the only way the problem is solvable, that any cancer disease is different and reacts differently to each patient tumor drugs.

In the forum of the DLD conference with the theme "The future trend of healthy living," the wiry mid-forties represented in the pink sweater, the position of the high-tech medicine and was therefore the antithesis of the alternative medicine Deepak Chopra, the disease through the balance of body, soul and mind wants to overcome.

In many ways the views of these antagonists are apparent but not so far apart. David Agus also considers it appropriate and important to do whatever is in their own hand to avoid or overcome disease. This is just as important is essentially a sensible and healthy lifestyle for the mental and emotional stability and physical fitness.

However, he relies less on spirituality and natural medicine as a modern scientific basis: every person should know his genetic risk for certain diseases, and to his attention in everyday life depend. "Most diseases are preventable," says the cancer doctors. Scientists with vision and GeschäftssinnUnd David Agus is not only scientists with a vision for the future here, but also a uniquely American artist, he, together with the genetic researchers Dietrich Stephan in 2007, "Navigenics founded a company for Internet-based genetic testing for everyone.

A saliva sample, and nearly $ 1,000 provide the customer with a risk profile for nearly 30 diseases, including certain cancers, heart attacks, Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes and celiac disease. While other online genetic testing may also assist in genealogical research will be limited to "Navigenics" on pure disease risks.

The biotech company advertises with guaranteed privacy, and the care of clients during "reading" of their genetic information they obtain online. You get advice on the further handling of the data, for example, that it would be advisable to talk to with the family doctor. With customer approval, doctors can also retrieve information about the genetic analysis of their patients online.

"The statements due to individual genetic tests are not entitled to absolute, but the high probability," says David Agus. For more detailed statements of the scientists already thinking one step further. "Proteon is the next generation of research." Scientists observe this activity and the interaction of individual proteins.

"Navigenics has set itself the goal of exploring the benefits of genetic knowledge to health continues. David Agus is particularly dear to overcome by using genetic findings, the scourge of cancer. The latest discoveries will also find the largest community platform for cancer on the Internet: Oncology.

com. David Agus has founded the site. For its future-oriented research, the oncologist has received many awards. The awards range from the "Physician Research Award from the American Cancer Society to the" Rock Star of Science of the men's magazine GQ. The online medium Healthspottr recently took him to the list of "Future Health 100" on - an exclusive gathering of researchers and practitioners who make today the future of medicine and health care.

Nevertheless, genetic testing might be the time for anyone not yet be ripe. A study of California's Scripps Translational Science Institute in cooperation with "Navigenics has found that the tested did not change their lifestyle, no matter had occurred and that the genetic analysis. Subjects with elevated risks in the future would go more often if necessary screening.

Of the 2,000 women and men 19-85 but rose half out of the study before the results were available at all. Only ten percent wanted the results can be explained by an expert. 25 percent said at least with their doctor about it. Study leader Eric Topol sees the result is positive, because it disproves a common fear: Those interested in a test of a gene does, is because we have not carried away by senseless scare and therapies.

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