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National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins is an Alpha-1 carrier, he tells conference on "personalized medicine"
WASHINGTON—National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis S. Collins, MD, is an Alpha-1 carrier, he said this week. During a conference Monday on “personalized medicine” sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Collins said he had his own DNA analyzed by three commercial services.
“I found out I was a carrier of the gene for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Defieiency,” Collins said. “I didn’t know that before.”
Collins said he surprised himself by altering his own behavior as a result of the genetic testing. He said he began to exercise and lost 20 pounds after finding out he has a genetic predisposition to diabetes.
