A test to tell if you are at risk from Alzheimer’s disease and dozens of other conditions goes on sale in Britain today costing ￡125.

在英國，你只要花125英鎊（約合人民幣1210元）進(jìn)行一個(gè)DNA檢測，就能知道自己患阿爾茲海默癥（Alzheimer’s disease）或其他幾十種疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)有多高。

The test uses a saliva sample to provide more than 100 pieces of genetic information including whether users are more likely than normal to suffer Parkinson’s, some cancers or baldness.

這項(xiàng)測試以唾液作為樣本，可為測試者提供100多種基因信息，包括患帕金森癥（Parkinson’s）、脫發(fā)或某些癌癥的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是否高于正常水平。

It can also predict whether they like coffee or hate Brussels sprouts, which type of exercise is likely to suit them best and give information about a person’s ancestry.

測試還能預(yù)知他們對食物的偏好，如愛喝咖啡或者不愛吃抱子甘藍(lán)，以及最適合的鍛煉方式，也可以知曉某人的家族史。

The test, already available in the US, is being marketed online by 23andMe, a firm part-funded by Google. A customer spits into a tube, seals it and sends it back to 23andMe’s labs for analysis. Four to six weeks later, they receive a detailed report in the post written in everyday language.

目前，人們已經(jīng)可在美國接受此測試，由谷歌公司部分出資的“23andMe”的公司也在進(jìn)行網(wǎng)上銷售。顧客可以用小試管收集自己的唾液，把它密封好，然后寄到公司的實(shí)驗(yàn)室進(jìn)行分析。四至六周后，顧客便能收到簡單易懂的詳細(xì)測試報(bào)告。

It will tell them, for instance, whether their risk of Alzheimer’s disease is higher or lower than average. 23andMe – run by Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin – says its ‘mission is to ensure that individuals can personally access, understand and benefit from the human genome’.

報(bào)告可以提供多種信息，比如顧客患阿爾茲海默癥的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是大還是小。23andMe公司老板安．沃潔希奇(Anne Wojcicki)是谷歌的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人謝爾蓋·布爾 （Sergey Brin）的妻子。該公司表示，他們的使命是確保人人都能親身測試，并對人類基因組多些了解而且從中獲益。

It says that armed with the information, people can take better care of their health. For instance, the print-out may give someone the impetus they need to give up smoking or it could mean they undergo regular health checks so that an illness can be caught – and treated early.

公司還表示，通過檢測信息，人們可以更好地照顧自己身體。比如，報(bào)告可以為測試者提供戒煙的動(dòng)力，也可能促使他們定期接受健康檢查，盡早發(fā)現(xiàn)疾病并進(jìn)行治療。

Genetic tests are already available in Britain but generally provide less information and are more expensive.

基因測試也已經(jīng)在英國啟用，但一般提供的信息較少，而且費(fèi)用更高昂。

However, critics say the science behind such analysis is not is not advanced enough to provide worthwhile results.

然而，有批評家指出，這項(xiàng)分析所運(yùn)用的科學(xué)技術(shù)并不夠先進(jìn)，不能提供有價(jià)值的結(jié)果。

This could lead to some people being falsely reassured, others worrying unnecessarily or facing higher insurance premiums and the NHS being put under added pressure.

一些人可能會(huì)輕易消除對疾病的隱憂，另一些人可能會(huì)面臨不必要的擔(dān)心或承擔(dān)更高額的保險(xiǎn)，而英國國民健康保險(xiǎn)制度（NHS）也將面臨更大壓力

The firm has been banned from providing some information from the tests to customers in the US over fears it would lead to people seeking out treatment they do not need.

美國禁止該公司向顧客透露某些測試結(jié)果，以防顧客盲目接受不必要的治療。

The US health watchdog, the Food and Drug Administration, was particularly concerned about information provided on one gene, BRCA, that raises the odds of breast and ovarian cancer.

美國食品和藥物管理局（the Food and Drug Administration）格外擔(dān)憂某些夸大乳腺癌或卵巢癌患病幾率的信息，這些信息往往只分析了乳腺癌易感基因（BRCA）便輕易得出結(jié)果。

It said: ‘For instance, if the BRCA-related risk assessment for breast or ovarian cancer reports a false positive, it could lead a patient to undergo prophylactic surgery, chemoprevention, intensive screening, or other morbidity-inducing actions, while a false negative could result in a failure to recognise an actual risk that may exist.’

管理局的發(fā)言人說：“如果對乳腺癌或卵巢癌的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)評估結(jié)果是假陽性，患者便可能接受預(yù)防性手術(shù)、化學(xué)治療、頻繁檢查或有其他誘導(dǎo)疾病的行為。而如果測試結(jié)果是假陰性，患者便意識不到實(shí)際風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的存在。

There are also concerns that someone told they have a higher risk of an incurable condition such as Alzheimer’s may take a fatalistic approach and stop looking after their health.

也有人擔(dān)心，一些人如果得知自己可能患有不治之癥，比如阿爾茲海默癥，這些人便會(huì)選擇聽天由命，放棄接受治療。

Professor Sally Hodgson, an expert in cancer genetics from St George’s Hospital in South London, said DNA analysis is ‘very open to misunderstanding’.

莎莉·霍奇森（Sally Hodgson）是倫敦南部圣喬治醫(yī)院（St George’s Hospital）癌癥遺傳學(xué)方面的專家，她認(rèn)為，DNA測試也存在被誤解的可能。

She warned that the results could cause ‘undue and inappropriate anxiety’ and said that valuable NHS time could be taken up by people requesting further tests.

她認(rèn)為，測試結(jié)果或會(huì)造成“不必要和不適當(dāng)?shù)膽n慮”，而人們對進(jìn)一步測試的需求會(huì)占用健康保險(xiǎn)業(yè)的寶貴時(shí)間。

（翻譯：zoe212 編輯：馬文英）