BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON - DeCode Genetics launched the first commercial personal genotyping service, enabling individuals to find out if they carry any genes associated with 17 diseases.

For $985 the DeCodeme service will analyze more than 1 million genetic variants and allow subscribers to put the information in the context of "the entire world literature" on genes related to the 17 diseases by logging onto the associated website.

Kari Stefansson, CEO, said in a company video launching the service, "We have put together an opportunity for the man in the street to develop a deeper understanding of human genetics.

"This is not a genetic test; it won't be used to make medical decisions," he added. If the results do raise concerns, users can ask questions via the website and deCODE offers the services of genetic counselors, also.

Reykjavik, Iceland-based DeCode does suggest, however, that the results can be used to "empower some individuals."

The example the company gives is Type II diabetes in which a number of predisposing genes are known, and where it is acknowledged that lifestyle changes, and particularly losing weight, can decrease the chances of getting the disease.

Through a variety of sources, including DeCode Genetics' own research in population genetics, the company has collected and annotated the most accurate and validated information available on genetic variations which have been associated with an average, higher or lower risk of common diseases.

The current list of diseases includes age-related macular degeneration, asthma, atrial fibrillation, breast cancer, coeliac disease, colorectal cancer, exfoliation glaucoma, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, myocardial infarction, obesity, prostate cancer, psoriasis, restless leg syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, Type I diabetes and Type II diabetes.

The disease list will be updated continuously as new discoveries are made.

Although commercial personal gene-testing services are not new, they have to date focused on diagnosing specific problems or predispositions, rather than trawling through the genome for multiple disease-related genes. The DeCode database will be updated as more disease genes are discovered.

"This is the first website for this purpose," Steffansson said. "We will continue to develop it, and hope it improves."

DeCode also noted that the service will help people understand their ancestral background, and suggested subscribers also may find it "playful" to compare their genomes to those of friends and family.

Subscribers sign up over the Internet, create a password-controlled personal account and receive a kit to take a cheek swab.

The resulting profile will be annotated and put in the context of risk for common diseases.

"Just a few short years after the first completed sequencing of a human genome in 2003, it is now possible to analyze on a single computer chip a large proportion of all of the variations in the genome that make each and every one of us unique. In an era when we are encouraged to take greater personal control of our lifestyle and health, we believe we should all have the opportunity to learn what our own genome can tell us about ourselves," Stefansson said.