THE hunt for the genes that predispose people to disease is shifting away
from isolated populations. Instead, researchers are starting to look at mixed
populations such as those of the US and Britain, where several large genetic
studies are being launched.
A Californian company, DNA Sciences, hopes to collect information on the
health and genomes of up to 100 000 volunteers. And in Britain, the Medical
Research Council (MRC) and the Wellcome Trust will next year ask around half a
million middle-aged people to take part in a study looking for links between
genes, lifestyle and disease.
It was thought that finding the genetic variations that predispose people to
disease would be easier in isolated countries such as Iceland, where the
population should be relatively homogenous. This was part of the reasoning
behind the deal that Iceland struck with deCODE Genetics, giving the company
exclusive access to its citizens鈥� medical records.
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But a study by Einar Arnason and his colleagues at the University of Iceland
suggests that Icelanders are actually among the most genetically diverse
Europeans (Nature Genetics, vol 25, p 373). And other researchers have
questioned whether finding a disease-causing gene in, say, Estonia, will help
drugs companies with an eye on the American market.
So instead of trying to look at a homogenous group, DNA Sciences is simply
recruiting volunteers through a website, www.DNA.com, that asks volunteers to
fill in a questionnaire about their medical history. The company will then send
a worker to their home or office to draw some blood. Over a thousand people had
signed up by the end of the first week.
鈥淚 find it exciting and it鈥檚 the least I can do for mankind,鈥� says Susan
Friday of Los Angeles, the first volunteer. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a remarkable degree of
willingness to participate in things of this sort, provided it鈥檚 explained,鈥�
says Tom Meade of the MRC.
But there are worries that people may sign up without realising what they鈥檙e
giving away. 鈥淚t鈥檚 obvious that there are some risks to the privacy [of people
who help DNA Sciences],鈥� says Eric Juengst of Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland, Ohio. He also has concerns about the blanket consent form that
volunteers must sign, an issue that will be discussed by ethicists at a meeting
sponsored by DNA Sciences in Chicago later this month.