This will be my last retort, so to speak, but how do we know these people were saved if the test isn't valid in the first place? Should I start retroviral medications if I had a positive xmrv tests?
While you can't discount them completely, anecdotal reports are not necessarily accurate and I haven't seen the same stories that you say you are seeing on the internet.
Not everyone has critical thinking skills whether it be from illness, ignorance, circumstances or exposure to the process. That's how scam artists become rich.
Everyone wants to make a buck but trying to get that money on something that has not been proven, nor taking the time to find out, IMHO, is greedy.
Barb I can say for myself that my 23andME results have certainly helped me.
1/ I get bad drug reactions to soo many different drugs, even so bad that one time I was hospitalised for a week after taking a drug and the reaction it gave me.
By my 23andME test, I now think I know why and I also now know what drugs I probably should be avoiding rather then being scared every time I have to trial a drug. My 25andME raw DNA data when I ran it thou the genetic genie detox panel.. came up that half of my detox panel SNPs are mutated including 5 to do with cytochrome 450 which is the enzymes to do with the breakdown of xenobiotic drugs (which make up more then 25% of pharma drugs). And all the drugs Ive reacted to bad when I looked them up online.. were xenobiotic drugs!!!
Its also actually warned me of certain drugs which could kill me so at least now I could consider those a lot more if a dr wanted me to take one of those.
I can also confirm many of my other results I got are correct eg
2/ my doctors had already tested me for MTHFR so I already knew I had a couple copy and what type.
3/ So many of the illnesses which came up on my report that I was at a higher risk of, I actually do have family members with.
4/ Many people use 23andME for ancestory stuff rather then for the medical info. I can say they certainly have some of that right. Thou my 23andME results and their site, I found someone who had the same great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents as I do (then confirmed by my families history book and with her known history). 23andME "estimate" (they put it as an estimate) of my and the other I worked out where she was related to me, generation history was out by 2 generations (she went back 2 further then they estimated).
Anyway I can say that for me, nothing in my report Ive found was wrong but many things Ive found were correct. They do warn people not to take their info as medical advice and to see ones doctor if one is concerned over anything they said.
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Ive also came across in the past year .. 2 people (maybe 3) who had the 23andME test done (1-2 was at this website.. someone else was at another site) more then once under different names to see if the results came up all the same. They said they did. I know one could say its anedotal when people say that but I find it hard to disbelief it when on rare occassion Ive had someone say that.
If the 23andME test is used by people as a guide.. there shouldnt be an issue. It helps one to know other things which should be considered eg my test came up that I was a carrier for a genetic disease to do with iron overload (which can cause organ failure).. fortunately not the very bad one and the fact I only have one gene of it, i dont have to worry much of it. It would only be a concern if I passed it on and my children esp if male had two copies of it. I havent gone to the doctor to get vertification as Im not concerned but its still good to know I probably do carry this due to my 23andME results.
My test also came up saying I had a 40% higher chance of getting Alzeiheimers from the age of 50. This was good to know as for the past year Ive been strongly suspecting that my grandmother has this. Knowing I carry genes which give me a far higher risk has me trying harder to figure out more what to do about my grandmother and her current issues.
23andME doesnt just give risk factors but they also have info and give ratings on how strong the studies are in each area (and also provides info on the studies to back up things).
It doesnt just give risks but also tells people how to lower the found risk of things eg something like Alzeimers has several things one can do to help lower a persons current risk eg exercise (which unfortuantely I cant do).
I think most people who are critizing it, havent had the test so havent seen how the info is actually put.