Reports Calls Home DNA Kits Misleading

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Reports Calls Home DNA Kits Misleading

From Times Staff and Wire Reports

July 29, 2006

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-

briefs29.5jul29,1,697042.story

Home DNA kits that claim to warn people of their risk of diseases

ranging from cancer to osteoporosis offer little real guidance and are

often misleading, according to a congressional report.

An investigation into 14 companies that sell the tests showed many gave

meaningless information, and some then tried to sell consumers

expensive " customized " supplements that were little different from

grocery-store vitamin pills. So-called nutrigenetic tests usually

involve a customer taking a swab from inside the cheek and sending it

to a lab for analysis. The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers

for Medicare and Medicaid Services said they were investigating the

companies