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Sergey Brin Parkinsons And The Case For Knowing More Than You May Want

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by Kevin Maney
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Sep 19 2008 9:13am EDT

Sergey Brin, Parkinson's, and the Case for Knowing More than You May Want

Kevin Maney writes: Google co-founder Sergey Brin is getting a lot of attention for revealing that he is genetically pre-disposed to getting Parkinson's Disease. I admire him for doing it. This is very personal information, obviously, but Brin chose to contribute to a debate society must now have. In coming years, everyone is going to be able to know what their genes could have in store for them. Last week, I went to a party for the DNA-decoding company 23andMe -- which, yes, was co-founded by Brin's wife, Anne Wojcicki. Unfortunately, they didn't offer free DNA tests, which otherwise cost about $300. But I was amazed to find out the breadth of stuff you can learn -- like whether you're prone to all kinds of diseases or to things like drinking too much or craving chocolate cake.


Anyway, Brin, as you might expect, let his wife test his DNA and found out about the Parkinson's link. The cynical could say that Brin wrote about it to publicize 23andMe, and maybe he did. Still, he was more revealing than most people of his position would be. And for everyone who questions whether they'd want to know what they're in for, Brin lays out his thinking.

He writes: "I know early in my life something I am substantially predisposed to. I now have the opportunity to adjust my life to reduce those odds (e.g. there is evidence that exercise may be protective against Parkinson's). I also have the opportunity to perform and support research into this disease long before it may affect me."

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