The deCODEme team has been busy working to update and improve your deCODEme experience. Additions include ABO blood types, Kidney stones, Eye color and Statin-induced myopathy. We have also added a section for feedback and research and a more detailed Male line analysis.
Here is a summary of the additions and changes:
| Tags: ABO blood types, Ancestry, Eye Color, Kidney Stones, Statin-Induced Myopathy. 
Charles Wallace and his wife believe that a deCODEme Complete Scan helped save Chuck's life when it lead to discovering Prostate Cancer. Click on the picture to see Chuck's story.
Dr. Bradley Bale at the the Heart Attack & Stroke Prevention Center is a big believer in deCODE’s tests for genetic risk factors for cardiovascular disease. As he has for many of his patients, Dr. Bale recommended that Charles Wallace, a 55 year-old Texan, have a full deCODEme scan to understand his risk of a range of conditions, including cardiovascular diseases. The breadth of the risk factors analyzed by deCODEme proved to be very important indeed. Mr. Wallace learned that he was at nearly double the average risk of prostate cancer, a piece of information he and Bale followed up on and that Wallace credits with helping to save his life.
Click on the image to watch the 60 Minutes Australia segment on genetic testing
60 Minutes Australia recently visited the deCODE genetics labs in Iceland and interviewed deCODE’s CEO Dr. Kari Stefansson. Among the people who did the deCODEme genetic test were journalist Liz Hayes, world surfing champion Layne Beachley and Australian television’s favorite builder, Scott Cam. To watch the 60 Minutes Australia segment click on the image above. To read the transcript of the webchat with Professor Bob Williamson click here. To learn more about deCODEme genetic tests and order your personal genome scan visit www.decodeme.com.
deCODE Genotyping Laboratory Receives College of American Pathologists Accreditation
Underscores quality of deCODE’s laboratory and tests, fulfilling key federal and state certification requirements and broadening marketing channels
deCODE genetics CLIA-registered DNA isolation and genotyping laboratory, which processes the company’s deCODEme™ personal genome scans and risk assessment diagnostic tests for several common diseases, has been accredited by the American College of Pathologists (CAP) following a recent inspection. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has granted the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program deeming authority, and its accreditations can also be used to meet many state certification requirements.
“We believe that testing for genetic risk factors for common diseases is going to play a central role in refocusing our healthcare system on prevention and early intervention. deCODE has led the way in discovering validated genetic risk factors for diseases with a major impact on public health, and in bringing to market products that put this knowledge in the hands of individuals and their doctors. Quality – in our world-leading science and in-house genotyping and data analysis – sets us apart from our competition in the field of personal genomics. CAP certification serves to emphasize this advantage and will enable us to provide our products to an ever wider public,” said Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE.
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deCODE genetics and Celera Corporation have announced the signing of agreements under which deCODE has granted Celera non-exclusive worldwide licenses to deCODE’s genetic markers for increased risk of major cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, including heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation (AF) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). These markers can be incorporated into laboratory tests for assessing and managing individual risk of these diseases.
“This is an excellent opportunity to broaden the clinical application and commercialization of our discoveries of high-impact genetic risk factors for major diseases. The markers included in these agreements are among the most widely replicated genetic risk factors for cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and they provide a natural complement to the biomarker services already offered by Berkeley HeartLab, Celera’s subsidiary. In Celera we have a partner with a global reputation in human genetics and a large and effective outreach and sales force. We are pleased to have the chance to work with them to build upon our discovery and testing platforms and to accelerate the adoption of personalized medicine,” said Kari Stefansson CEO of deCODE.
deCODEme calculates your genetic risk for Multiple Sclerosis
The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) encourages Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness during March 2009.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurological disorder diagnosed in young adults. It is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system; the brain, nerves and spinal cord, that damages the protective insulation (known as “myelin”) surrounding the nerves. As a result, nerve impulses carrying messages from the brain and spinal cord are disturbed, causing a variety of symptoms such as visual disorders, weakness, dizziness, and various movement disorders, to name but a few.
The causes of MS are not fully understood. With better understanding of the disease, more effective ways will be found to treat it in the future, and hopefully prevent it from occurring in the first place. Significant steps towards better understanding of MS have however been made.
The Map of Kinship can be used not only to learn about your relationship to people from the different continents, but also your relationship to populations within the continents.
From a genetic point of view we are all unique, but some individuals are more similar than others. Generally speaking, genetic differences reflect geography. People from the same geographic area tend to be more genetically similar than people from distant parts of the world. This means that the greater your genetic similarity is to a particular population, the more likely you have ancestors that belonged to that group in the past and relatives in the present.
The deCODEme team has recently implemented a new tool, called the Map of Kinship. This tool can be used to explore a person’s ancestry and genealogical relationship to more than 1000 individuals from 53 populations from all over the world.
| Tags: Ancestry, Family Tree, Genealogists, Genealogy, Geography, Map of Kinship, Relationships. 
deCODEme customer Anna Peterson on top of Acropolis on a camping trip in Athens.
By: Anna Peterson
I am a fit, healthy, 27 year old Canadian graduate student looking forward to the future. So why, you might wonder, did I decide to take the deCODEme genetic test? It’s simple really. Information is the key to prevention. By learning about my genetic predisposition for different illnesses, I will be better prepared to take an active role in my future health care decisions.
Many of my friends were surprised that I decided to take this comprehensive genetic test. Some were curious about the story my genes would tell, while others wondered whether or not I really wanted to know. When I put my genetic sample in the mail, I felt a little nervous about the chain of events I had set in motion, but curiosity overcame fear. In my opinion, knowledge is power and I’d rather make lifestyle changes in my 20s than in my 60s.
Pam Bale is going to get her three grown-up children a deCODEme genetic test for Christmas
Pam Bale knows what she wants to get her three children for Christmas. Two of Pam’s children are in their 20s and the other is 30. In other words, a little too old for video games. So they’re not getting a Wii or Guitar Hero. Instead, Pam wants to surprise her kids on December 25th with a genetic test.
“I think the kit would open up all sorts of doors to their future,” says Pam. “They are young adults, and at their ages the test can show them what medical concerns they might face down the road. They are young enough so they can take the steps to avoid those concerns. It would make their whole future happier and healthier and extend their lives. I think it’s a great gift to give to my kids. So don’t tell them. I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
For the whole interview with Pam Bale go to deCODEme Customer Stories.
Time magazine's Best Inventions of 2008: The Retail DNA Test
deCODE staffers were buzzing about Time magazine’s announcement this week of its best invention of 2008: the retail DNA test. As the creators of deCODEme, the first personal genome scan on the market, deCODE staff members were not about to quibble about the date (deCODEme was actually launched on November 16, 2007).
Indeed, the value of deCODE’s capabilities and service is perhaps best demonstrated by the launch of web portals offering similar services based largely upon deCODE’s discoveries, and Time’s article underscored the potential of this new field by devoting considerable attention to the high-powered tech luminaries who have come chasing deCODEme’s tail.
But what sets deCODE apart from the pack is not that it was the first personal genome analysis service to hit the market, but that it grew out of the biggest and to date most successful effort to discover the genetic factors that increase individual risk of public health challenges like from heart attack and breast cancer. More than a dozen years of large-scale research in human genetics, with the experience of having analyzed the genomes of hundreds of thousands of people, really does count.
The competition clearly feels the weight of deCODE’s advantage, which Time highlighted last year when it named CEO Kari Stefansson to the Time 100 list for the company’s pioneering work in genetics. As Time quotes the founder of a deCODEme competitor: “We could make great discoveries if we just had more information.” Perhaps, but fortunately with deCODEme the public doesn’t have to wait for the dot-commers to bone up on their genetics.
Congratulations again to the deCODEme team!
deCODE customer rep Larus Jon Gudmundsson and genetic counselor Kris Kristjansson MD
Tapping the vast resources of deCODEme scientists
The users of deCODEme show great interest in their results and are not afraid to ask questions. deCODEme customer support welcomes all questions and inquiries and taps the vast knowledge base and resources of its research teams to respond to all emails as comprehensively and quickly as possible. Among the more general questions we receive is the following.
Question
“I’m seriously thinking about doing the DNA test. Now I only have to decide from which company. How does your test compare with tests from other companies?”
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| Tags: customer support, deCODE genetics, deCODEme, genome browser, health, health care. 
A maverick businessman and former White House confidant believes that by collecting enough data about his health, he can live to be ripe, old age.
Jack Grayson wants to live to be 113. Actually, the former head of the U.S. Price Commission under the late President Richard Nixon thinks he might be able to reach 150.
“I want to live longer so I can live forever,” says Dr. Grayson, who now runs the highly successful APQC, a private sector, non-profit organization to help American business, health and education sectors improve productivity and remain globally competitive.
How does the former FBI agent and farmer who taught at both Stanford and Harvard plan to live for a century and a half?
Link: Read the whole interview and listen to Jack Grayson talk about his deCODEme experience
For more information on the deCODEme genetic test visit us at www.deCODEme.com.
