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Pal G, Cook L, Schulze J, Verbrugge J, Alcalay RN, Merello M, Sue CM, Bardien S, Bonifati V, Chung SJ, Foroud T, Gatto E, Hall A, Hattori N, Lynch T, Marder K, Mascalzoni D, Novaković I, Thaler A, Raymond D, Salari M, Shalash A, Suchowersky O, Mencacci NE, Simuni T, Saunders‐Pullman R, Klein C. Genetic Testing in Parkinson's Disease. Mov Disord 2023; 38:1384-1396. [PMID: 37365908 PMCID: PMC10946878 DOI: 10.1002/mds.29500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic testing for persons with Parkinson's disease is becoming increasingly common. Significant gains have been made regarding genetic testing methods, and testing is becoming more readily available in clinical, research, and direct-to-consumer settings. Although the potential utility of clinical testing is expanding, there are currently no proven gene-targeted therapies, but clinical trials are underway. Furthermore, genetic testing practices vary widely, as do knowledge and attitudes of relevant stakeholders. The specter of testing mandates financial, ethical, and physician engagement, and there is a need for guidelines to help navigate the myriad of challenges. However, to develop guidelines, gaps and controversies need to be clearly identified and analyzed. To this end, we first reviewed recent literature and subsequently identified gaps and controversies, some of which were partially addressed in the literature, but many of which are not well delineated or researched. Key gaps and controversies include: (1) Is genetic testing appropriate in symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals without medical actionability? (2) How, if at all, should testing vary based on ethnicity? (3) What are the long-term outcomes of consumer- and research-based genetic testing in presymptomatic PD? (4) What resources are needed for clinical genetic testing, and how is this impacted by models of care and cost-benefit considerations? Addressing these issues will help facilitate the development of consensus and guidelines regarding the approach and access to genetic testing and counseling. This is also needed to guide a multidisciplinary approach that accounts for cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic factors in developing testing guidelines. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gian Pal
- Department of NeurologyRutgers‐Robert Wood Johnson Medical SchoolNew BrunswickNew JerseyUSA
| | - Lola Cook
- Department of Medical and Molecular GeneticsIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | - Jeanine Schulze
- Department of Medical and Molecular GeneticsIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | - Jennifer Verbrugge
- Department of Medical and Molecular GeneticsIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | - Roy N. Alcalay
- Department of NeurologyColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
- Movement Disorders Division, Neurological InstituteTel Aviv Sourasky Medical CenterTel AvivIsrael
| | - Marcelo Merello
- Neuroscience Department FleniCONICET, Catholic University of Buenos AiresBuenos AiresArgentina
| | - Carolyn M. Sue
- Department of NeurologyRoyal North Shore HospitalSt LeonardsNew South WalesAustralia
- Department of Neurogenetics, Kolling Institute, Faculty of Medicine and HealthUniversity of SydneySt LeonardsNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Soraya Bardien
- Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health SciencesStellenbosch UniversityCape TownSouth Africa
- South African Medical Research Council/Stellenbosch University Genomics of Brain Disorders Research UnitStellenbosch UniversityCape TownSouth Africa
| | - Vincenzo Bonifati
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MCUniversity Medical Center RotterdamRotterdamthe Netherlands
| | - Sun Ju Chung
- Department of Neurology, Asan Medical CenterUniversity of Ulsan College of MedicineSeoulSouth Korea
| | - Tatiana Foroud
- Department of Medical and Molecular GeneticsIndiana University School of MedicineIndianapolisIndianaUSA
| | - Emilia Gatto
- Instituto de Neurociencias Buenos AiresAffiliated Buenos Aires UniversityBuenos AiresArgentina
| | - Anne Hall
- Parkinson's FoundationNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Nobutaka Hattori
- Research Institute of Disease of Old Age, Graduate School of MedicineJuntendo UniversityTokyoJapan
- Department of NeurologyJuntendo University School of MedicineTokyoJapan
- Neurodegenerative Disorders Collaborative LaboratoryRIKEN Center for Brain ScienceSaitamaJapan
| | - Tim Lynch
- Dublin Neurological Institute at the Mater Misericordiae University HospitalDublinIreland
| | - Karen Marder
- Department of NeurologyColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Deborah Mascalzoni
- Institute for Biomedicine, Eurac ResearchAffiliated Institute of the University of LübeckBolzanoItaly
- Center for Research Ethics and Bioethics, Department of Public Health and Caring SciencesUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
| | - Ivana Novaković
- Institute of Human Genetics, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of BelgradeBelgradeSerbia
| | - Avner Thaler
- Movement Disorders Unit, Neurological InstituteTel‐Aviv Medical CenterTel AvivIsrael
- Sackler School of MedicineTel‐Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
- Sagol School of NeuroscienceTel‐Aviv UniversityTel AvivIsrael
- Laboratory of Early Markers of Neurodegeneration, Neurological InstituteTel‐Aviv Medical CenterTel AvivIsrael
| | - Deborah Raymond
- Department of NeurologyMount Sinai Beth Israel and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Mehri Salari
- Functional Neurosurgery Research Center, Shohada‐e Tajrish Comprehensive Neurosurgical Center of ExcellenceShahid Beheshti University of Medical SciencesTehranIran
| | - Ali Shalash
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of MedicineAin Shams UniversityCairoEgypt
| | - Oksana Suchowersky
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), Medical Genetics and PediatricsUniversity of AlbertaEdmontonAlbertaCanada
| | - Niccolò E. Mencacci
- Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology and Simpson Querrey Center for NeurogeneticsNorthwestern University, Feinberg School of MedicineChicagoIllinoisUSA
- Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders CenterNorthwestern University Feinberg School of MedicineChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Tanya Simuni
- Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders CenterNorthwestern University Feinberg School of MedicineChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Rachel Saunders‐Pullman
- Department of NeurologyMount Sinai Beth Israel and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Christine Klein
- Institute of NeurogeneticsUniversity of Lübeck and University Hospital Schleswig‐HolsteinLübeckGermany
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Nwebonyi N, Silva S, de Freitas C. Public Views About Involvement in Decision-Making on Health Data Sharing, Access, Use and Reuse: The Importance of Trust in Science and Other Institutions. Front Public Health 2022; 10:852971. [PMID: 35619806 PMCID: PMC9127133 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.852971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Data-intensive and needs-driven research can deliver substantial health benefits. However, concerns with privacy loss, undisclosed surveillance, and discrimination are on the rise due to mounting data breaches. This can undermine the trustworthiness of data processing institutions and reduce people's willingness to share their data. Involving the public in health data governance can help to address this problem by imbuing data processing frameworks with societal values. This study assesses public views about involvement in individual-level decisions concerned with health data and their association with trust in science and other institutions. Methods Cross-sectional study with 162 patients and 489 informal carers followed at two reference centers for rare diseases in an academic hospital in Portugal (June 2019–March 2020). Participants rated the importance of involvement in decision-making concerning health data sharing, access, use, and reuse from “not important” to “very important”. Its association with sociodemographic characteristics, interpersonal trust, trust in national and international institutions, and the importance of trust in research teams and host institutions was tested. Results Most participants perceived involvement in decision-making about data sharing (85.1%), access (87.1%), use (85%) and reuse (79.9%) to be important or very important. Participants who ascribed a high degree of importance to trust in research host institutions were significantly more likely to value involvement in such decisions. A similar position was expressed by participants who valued trust in research teams for data sharing, access, and use. Participants with low levels of trust in national and international institutions and with lower levels of education attributed less importance to being involved in decisions about data use. Conclusion The high value attributed by participants to involvement in individual-level data governance stresses the need to broaden opportunities for public participation in health data decision-making, namely by introducing a meta consent approach. The important role played by trust in science and in other institutions in shaping participants' views about involvement highlights the relevance of pairing such a meta consent approach with the provision of transparent information about the implications of data sharing, the resources needed to make informed choices and the development of harm mitigation tools and redress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ngozi Nwebonyi
- Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Porto, Portugal.,Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto (FMUP), Porto, Portugal
| | - Susana Silva
- Departamento de Sociologia, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal.,Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Cláudia de Freitas
- Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Porto, Portugal.,Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto (FMUP), Porto, Portugal.,EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology, University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal
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Sharon T. From hostile worlds to multiple spheres: towards a normative pragmatics of justice for the Googlization of health. MEDICINE, HEALTH CARE, AND PHILOSOPHY 2021; 24:315-327. [PMID: 33721157 PMCID: PMC7957283 DOI: 10.1007/s11019-021-10006-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The datafication and digitalization of health and medicine has engendered a proliferation of new collaborations between public health institutions and data corporations like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. Critical perspectives on these new partnerships tend to frame them as an instance of market transgressions by tech giants into the sphere of health and medicine, in line with a "hostile worlds" doctrine that upholds that the borders between market and non-market spheres should be carefully policed. This article seeks to outline the limitations of this common framing for critically understanding the phenomenon of the Googlization of health. In particular, the mobilization of a diversity of non-market value statements in the justification work carried out by actors involved in the Googlization of health indicates the co-presence of additional worlds or spheres in this context, which are not captured by the market vs. non-market dichotomy. It then advances an alternative framework, based on a multiple-sphere ontology that draws on Boltanski and Thevenot's orders of worth and Michael Walzer's theory of justice, which I call a normative pragmatics of justice. This framework addresses both the normative deficit in Boltanski and Thevenot's work and provides an important emphasis on the empirical workings of justice. Finally, I discuss why this framework is better equipped to identify and to address the many risks raised by the Googlization of health and possibly other dimensions of the digitalization and datafication of society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamar Sharon
- Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Radboud University, PO Box 9103, 6500 HD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Doerr M, Guerrini C. Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood? Personas Populating Unregulated mHealth Research. THE JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS : A JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS 2020; 48:37-48. [PMID: 32342754 DOI: 10.1177/1073110520917028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A key feature of unregulated mHealth research is the diversity of participants in this space. Applying an approach drawn from user experience design, we describe a set of archetypal unregulated mHealth researcher "personas," which range from individuals who seek empowerment or have philanthropic objectives to those who are primarily motivated by financial gain or have misanthropic objectives. These descriptions are useful for evaluating policies applicable to mHealth to understand how they will impact various stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Doerr
- Megan Doerr, M.S., L.G.C., is Principal Scientist, Governance, at Sage Bionetworks. Her work focuses on app-based research, including the ELSI issues of informed consent, research participation, and data sharing for secondary use. Christi Guerrini, J.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine. She has a K01 award from the National Human Genome Research Institute to study ownership interests in citizen science
| | - Christi Guerrini
- Megan Doerr, M.S., L.G.C., is Principal Scientist, Governance, at Sage Bionetworks. Her work focuses on app-based research, including the ELSI issues of informed consent, research participation, and data sharing for secondary use. Christi Guerrini, J.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine. She has a K01 award from the National Human Genome Research Institute to study ownership interests in citizen science
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5
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Broad consent in practice: lessons learned from a hospital-based biobank for prospective research on genomic and medical data. Eur J Hum Genet 2020; 28:915-924. [PMID: 32086443 DOI: 10.1038/s41431-020-0585-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Revised: 12/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Broad consent is increasingly recommended as an acceptable consent model for biobanking human samples and health data with a view to their future use in research. Empirical evidence on the practice of broad consent and its implementation in the hospital setting, however, is still very limited. We analyse and discuss results from a qualitative study of perceptions of a sample of patients and biobank recruiters regarding broad consent to participate in a hospital-based biobank for prospective research on genomic and health data. Our findings suggest that contextual and relational factors play an important role in the practice of broad consent, and illustrate that broad consent relies as much on intuition as on reasoning. Moreover, we show that seeking broad consent in the hospital affects patient-recruiter interaction and that "conditional" trust plays a significant role in broad-consent decision-making. In conclusion, we provide recommendations to improve patient autonomy in the context of hospital-based broad consent.
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6
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Guerrini CJ, Lewellyn M, Majumder MA, Trejo M, Canfield I, McGuire AL. Donors, authors, and owners: how is genomic citizen science addressing interests in research outputs? BMC Med Ethics 2019; 20:84. [PMID: 31752834 PMCID: PMC6868686 DOI: 10.1186/s12910-019-0419-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Citizen science is increasingly prevalent in the biomedical sciences, including the field of human genomics. Genomic citizen science initiatives present new opportunities to engage individuals in scientific discovery, but they also are provoking new questions regarding who owns the outputs of the research, including intangible ideas and discoveries and tangible writings, tools, technologies, and products. The legal and ethical claims of participants to research outputs become stronger-and also more likely to conflict with those of institution-based researchers and other stakeholders-as participants become more involved, quantitatively and qualitatively, in the research process. It is not yet known, however, how genomic citizen science initiatives are managing the interests of their participants in accessing and controlling research outputs in practice. To help fill this gap, we conducted an in-depth review of relevant policies and practices of U.S.-based genomic citizen science initiatives. METHODS We queried the peer-reviewed literature and grey literature to identify 22 genomic citizen science initiatives that satisfied six inclusion criteria. A data collection form was used to capture initiative features, policies, and practices relevant to participants' access to and control over research outputs. RESULTS This analysis revealed that the genomic citizen science landscape is diverse and includes many initiatives that do not have institutional affiliations. Two trends that are in apparent tension were identified: commercialization and operationalization of a philosophy of openness. While most initiatives supported participants' access to research outputs, including datasets and published findings, none supported participants' control over results via intellectual property, licensing, or commercialization rights. However, several initiatives disclaimed their own rights to profit from outputs. CONCLUSIONS There are opportunities for citizen science initiatives to incorporate more features that support participants' access to and control over research outputs, consistent with their specific objectives, operations, and technical capabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christi J Guerrini
- Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
| | - Meaganne Lewellyn
- Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Mary A Majumder
- Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Meredith Trejo
- Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Isabel Canfield
- Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Amy L McGuire
- Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
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Schaper M, Wöhlke S, Schicktanz S. "I would rather have it done by a doctor"-laypeople's perceptions of direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC GT) and its ethical implications. MEDICINE, HEALTH CARE, AND PHILOSOPHY 2019; 22:31-40. [PMID: 29705970 DOI: 10.1007/s11019-018-9837-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC GT) has been available for several years now, with varying degrees of regulation across different countries. Despite a restrictive legal framework it is possible for consumers to order genetic tests from companies located in other countries. However, German laypeople's awareness and perceptions of DTC GT services is still unexplored. We conducted seven focus groups (participants n = 43) with German laypeople to explore their perceptions of and attitudes towards commercial genetic testing and its ethical implications. Participants were critical towards DTC GT. Criticism was directed at health-related, predictive testing, while lifestyle tests were accepted and even welcomed to some extent. Participants expressed strong reservations regarding commercial provision of genetic diagnostics and expressed a lack of trust in respective companies. They preferred non-commercial distribution within the public healthcare system. Participants also expressed high expectations of physicians' abilities to interpret information obtained via DTC GT companies and provide counseling. Legal restrictions on commercial distribution of genetic tests were opposed, with participants arguing that it should be available to consumers. DTC GT companies are not perceived as trustworthy when compared to the public healthcare system and its professional ethical standards and practices. Laypeople rated general consumer autonomy higher than their own concerns, thus recommending against strong legal regulation. We conclude that medicine's trustworthiness may be negatively affected if commercial provision is not visibly opposed by the medical professions, while DTC GT companies may gain in trustworthiness if they adapt to standards and practices upheld in medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Schaper
- Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 36, 37073, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Sabine Wöhlke
- Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 36, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Silke Schicktanz
- Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 36, 37073, Göttingen, Germany
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Niemiec E, Kalokairinou L, Howard HC. Current ethical and legal issues in health-related direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Per Med 2017; 14:433-445. [PMID: 29754566 DOI: 10.2217/pme-2017-0029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
A variety of health-related genetic testing is currently advertized directly to consumers. This article provides a timely overview of direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC GT) and salient ethical issues, as well as an analysis of the impact of the recently adopted regulation on in vitro diagnostic medical devices on DTC GT. DTC GT companies currently employ new testing approaches, report on a wide spectrum of conditions and target new groups of consumers. Such activities raise ethical issues including the questionable analytic and clinical validity of tests, the adequacy of informed consent, potentially misleading advertizing, testing in children, research uses and commercialization of genomic data. The recently adopted regulation on in vitro diagnostic medical devices may limit the offers of predisposition DTC GT in the EU market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilia Niemiec
- Interdepartmental Centre for Research in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Law and in Computer Science and Law, University of Bologna, 40121 Bologna, Italy.,Department of Law, University of Turin, 10153 Turin, Italy.,Centre for Ethics & Law in the Life Sciences, Institute of Philosophy, Leibniz University Hannover, D 30159 Hannover, Germany
| | - Louiza Kalokairinou
- Centre for Biomedical Ethics & Law, Department of Public Health & Primary Care, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Heidi Carmen Howard
- Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, SE-751 22 Uppsala, Sweden
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9
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Capps B, Chadwick R, Joly Y, Mulvihill JJ, Lysaght T, Zwart H. Falling giants and the rise of gene editing: ethics, private interests and the public good. Hum Genomics 2017; 11:20. [PMID: 28851444 PMCID: PMC5575847 DOI: 10.1186/s40246-017-0116-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper considers the tensions created in genomic research by public and private for-profit ideals. Our intent is to strengthen the public good at a time when doing science is strongly motivated by market possibilities and opportunities. Focusing on the emergence of gene editing, and in particular CRISPR, we consider how commercialisation encourages hype and hope-a sense that only promise and idealism can achieve progress. At this rate, genomic research reinforces structures that promote, above all else, private interests, but that may attenuate conditions for the public good of science. In the first part, we situate genomics using the aphorism that 'on the shoulders of giants we see farther'; these giants are infrastructures and research cultures rather than individual 'heroes' of science. In this respect, private initiatives are not the only pivot for successful discovery, and indeed, fascination in those could impinge upon the fundamental role of public-supported discovery. To redress these circumstances, we define the extent to which progress presupposes research strategies that are for the public good. In the second part, we use a 'falling giant' narrative to illustrate the risks of over-indulging for-profit initiatives. We therefore offer a counterpoint to commercialised science, using three identifiable 'giants'-scientists, publics and cultures-to illustrate how the public good contributes to genomic discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Capps
- Department of Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.
| | - Ruth Chadwick
- School of Law, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Yann Joly
- Department of Human Genetics, Centre of Genomics and Policy, McGill University, Québec, Canada
| | - John J Mulvihill
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Tamra Lysaght
- Centre for Biomedical Ethics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Hub Zwart
- Faculty of Science, Department of Philosophy and Science Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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10
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Spector-Bagdady K. "The Google of Healthcare": enabling the privatization of genetic bio/databanking. Ann Epidemiol 2016; 26:515-519. [PMID: 27449572 PMCID: PMC6988384 DOI: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2016.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Revised: 05/04/2016] [Accepted: 05/21/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE 23andMe is back on the market as the first direct-to-consumer genetic testing company that "includes reports that meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards…." But, whereas its front-end product is selling individual genetic tests online, its back-end business model is amassing one of the largest privately owned genetic databases in the world. What is the effect, however, of the private control of bio/databases on genetic epidemiology and public health research? METHODS The recent federal government notices of proposed rulemaking for: (1) revisions to regulations governing human subjects research and (2) whether certain direct-to-consumer genetic tests should require premarket FDA review, were reviewed and related to the 23andMe product, business model, and consumer agreements. RESULTS FDA regulatory action so far has focused on the return of consumer test reports but it should also consider the broader misuse of data and information not otherwise protected by human subjects research regulations. CONCLUSIONS As the federal government revises its decades-old human subjects research structure, the Executive Office of the President (EOP) should consider a cohesive approach to regulating private genetic bio/databanks. This strategy should allow the FDA and other agencies to play a role in expanding current regulatory coverage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayte Spector-Bagdady
- Center for Bioethics & Social Sciences in Medicine, Program in Research Ethics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
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Woolley JP, McGowan ML, Teare HJA, Coathup V, Fishman JR, Settersten RA, Sterckx S, Kaye J, Juengst ET. Citizen science or scientific citizenship? Disentangling the uses of public engagement rhetoric in national research initiatives. BMC Med Ethics 2016; 17:33. [PMID: 27260081 PMCID: PMC4893207 DOI: 10.1186/s12910-016-0117-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2015] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The language of “participant-driven research,” “crowdsourcing” and “citizen science” is increasingly being used to encourage the public to become involved in research ventures as both subjects and scientists. Originally, these labels were invoked by volunteer research efforts propelled by amateurs outside of traditional research institutions and aimed at appealing to those looking for more “democratic,” “patient-centric,” or “lay” alternatives to the professional science establishment. As mainstream translational biomedical research requires increasingly larger participant pools, however, corporate, academic and governmental research programs are embracing this populist rhetoric to encourage wider public participation. Discussion We examine the ethical and social implications of this recruitment strategy. We begin by surveying examples of “citizen science” outside of biomedicine, as paradigmatic of the aspirations this democratizing rhetoric was originally meant to embody. Next, we discuss the ways these aspirations become articulated in the biomedical context, with a view to drawing out the multiple and potentially conflicting meanings of “public engagement” when citizens are also the subjects of the science. We then illustrate two uses of public engagement rhetoric to gain public support for national biomedical research efforts: its post-hoc use in the “care.data” project of the National Health Service in England, and its proactive uses in the “Precision Medicine Initiative” of the United States White House. These examples will serve as the basis for a normative analysis, discussing the potential ethical and social ramifications of this rhetoric. Summary We pay particular attention to the implications of government strategies that cultivate the idea that members of the public have a civic duty to participate in government-sponsored research initiatives. We argue that such initiatives should draw from policy frameworks that support normative analysis of the role of citizenry. And, we conclude it is imperative to make visible and clear the full spectrum of meanings of “citizen science,” the contexts in which it is used, and its demands with respect to participation, engagement, and governance.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Patrick Woolley
- University of Oxford, Harris Manchester College, Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TD, UK
| | - Michelle L McGowan
- The Pennsylvania State University, 128B Willard Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Harriet J A Teare
- Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Ewert House, Ewert Place, Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DD, UK
| | - Victoria Coathup
- Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Ewert House, Ewert Place, Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DD, UK
| | - Jennifer R Fishman
- McGill University, Social Studies of Medicine, 3647 Peel, Room 207, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1X1, Canada
| | - Richard A Settersten
- School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 123 Women's Building, Corvallis, OR, 97331-8577, USA
| | - Sigrid Sterckx
- Department of Philosophy & Moral Sciences Ghent University, Blandijnberg 2, 9000, Gent, Belgium
| | - Jane Kaye
- Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Ewert House, Ewert Place, Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DD, UK.
| | - Eric T Juengst
- 333 MacNider Hall, Campus Box 7240, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 333S. Columbia Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7240, USA
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Vayena E. Direct-to-consumer genomics on the scales of autonomy. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ETHICS 2015; 41:310-4. [PMID: 24797610 PMCID: PMC4392219 DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2014-102026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2014] [Revised: 03/04/2014] [Accepted: 04/09/2014] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic services have generated enormous controversy from their first emergence. A dramatic recent manifestation of this is the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) cease and desist order against 23andMe, the leading provider in the market. Critics have argued for the restrictive regulation of such services, and even their prohibition, on the grounds of the harm they pose to consumers. Their advocates, by contrast, defend them as a means of enhancing the autonomy of those same consumers. Autonomy emerges as a key battle-field in this debate, because many of the 'harm' arguments can be interpreted as identifying threats to autonomy. This paper assesses whether DTC genomic services are a threat to, or instead, an enhancement of, personal autonomy. It deploys Joseph Raz's account of personal autonomy, with its emphasis on choice from a range of valuable options. It then seeks to counter claims that DTC genomics threatens autonomy because it involves manipulation in contravention of consumers' independence or because it does not generate valuable options which can be meaningfully engaged with by consumers. It is stressed that the value of the options generated by DTC genomics should not be judged exclusively from the perspective of medical actionability, but should take into consideration plural utilities. Finally, the paper ends by broaching policy recommendations, suggesting that there is a strong autonomy-based argument for permitting DTC genomic services, and that the key question is the nature of the regulatory conditions under which they should be permitted. The discussion of autonomy in this paper helps illuminate some of these conditions.
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Communication is the key. : Part 2 : Direct to consumer genetics in our future daily life ? J Cell Commun Signal 2014; 8:275-87. [PMID: 25408105 DOI: 10.1007/s12079-014-0258-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2014] [Accepted: 11/12/2014] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The considerable advances of genome sequencing over the past decades have had a profound impact on our daily life and opened up new avenues for the public to have access to their genetic information and learn more about their ancestry, genealogy and other traits that make each of us unique individuals. A very large number of individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated to diseases whereas others have no known phenotype. For example, among the SNPs mapped within ccn1(cyr61), ccn2(ctgf), ccn3(nov), ccn4(wisp-1), ccn5(wisp-2) and ccn6 (wisp-3), only mutations within ccn4 were associated to PPD (the autosomal recessive skeletal disorder Progressive Pseudorheumatoid Dysplasia). On the occasion of this JCCS special issue on the roles of hormetic responses in adaptation, and response of living species to the modifications of their environment, it appeared that it was a good time to briefly review a topic that has been the subject of passionate discussions for the past few years, that is Direct to Consumer genetic tests (DTC GT). Based on the use of DNA analysis and identification of polymorphisms, DTC GT have been developed by several companies in the USA and in countries where there was no legal obstacle for customers to have direct access to their genetic information and manage their healthcare. Problems that arose and decisions that have been taken by regulatory agencies are presented and discussed in this editorial. The « freeze » of health-oriented DTC GT in the USA neither implies the end of DNA analysis nor « fun » applications, which are not aimed at providing risks estimates for particular illnesses. As shown in the example which is discussed in this editorial, DTC GT for cosmetic applications might be considered a fun application of great interest for companies such as L'Oréal, who recently developed the Makeup Genius mobile application. Other fun applications of DTC GT are discussed but there is no doubt that nothing will stop progress and it is most probable than within a few years from now all the tensions raised about these procedures will vanish to the profit and benefit of consumers. In any case, this will only be possible through an intensive communication effort, because …communication is the key !
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Vayena E, Ineichen C, Stoupka E, Hafen E. Playing a part in research? University students' attitudes to direct-to-consumer genomics. Public Health Genomics 2014; 17:158-68. [PMID: 24777115 DOI: 10.1159/000360257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS This study examined the attitudes of 1,146 Swiss University students to direct-to-consumer (DTC) genomic testing and to genomic research participation. METHODS Data were collected through a self-completion online questionnaire by students from 2 higher education institutions in Zurich, Switzerland. The survey aimed to capture motivation for undergoing or refraining from genomic testing, reactions to mock genetic risk results, and views about contributing data to scientific research. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the analysis. RESULTS A total of 1.5% of the students had undergone testing. Most respondents were studying natural sciences and were interested in undergoing DTC genomic testing. The main motive was to contribute their data to scientific research, followed closely by their interest to find out disease risks and personal traits. Overall, 41% of the respondents were not interested in DTC tests. The primary reasons were concerns about receiving potentially worrying results. There was a significant correlation between studying natural sciences, as opposed to the humanities, and interest in undergoing testing. Male respondents were more interested in testing compared to females. There was a strong interest in genetic research participation and notably limited privacy concerns. CONCLUSION Although 59% of the respondents were interested in DTC genomic testing, they were not likely to be affected by them or act upon them. This raises questions about concerns relating to potential risks of DTC genomics users and users' understanding of genetic information including their awareness of privacy risks. Furthermore, the strong interest in genetic research participation signals an underexplored personal utility of genomic testing which needs to be both better understood and better harnessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Effy Vayena
- Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Weigmann K. Health research 2.0: The use in research of personal fitness or health data shared on social network raises both scientific and ethical concerns. EMBO Rep 2014; 15:223-6. [PMID: 24517912 DOI: 10.1002/embr.201438510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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"I prefer a child with …": designer babies, another controversial patent in the arena of direct-to-consumer genomics. Genet Med 2013; 15:923-4. [PMID: 24091802 DOI: 10.1038/gim.2013.164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2013] [Accepted: 09/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
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