In a Portland Tribune (Ore.) article about predictive tests for neurodegenerative diseases, Jason Karlawish, MD, professor of Geriatrics and Medical Ethics and Health Policy, says most physicians don’t want to be bothered with predictive tests. Karlawish directs the Neurodegenerative Disease Ethics and Policy Program at the Penn Memory Center. Karlawish says even the most predictive tests such as a genetic test for Huntington’s are inexact. They don’t tell those who test positive when they will get the disease. One study of people learning they tested positive for a gene associated with Alzheimer’s, according to Karlawish, did not show significant numbers of them lapsing into long-term depression or becoming markedly anxious.
You can read the article here.