posted
i haven't used them - but I did look into it and had some emails back and forth with their people.
my view is this: in the end, all these private testing companies are something of a leap of faith.
the reason is that there is no requirement for them to really prove their tests do what they say on the tin.
Of course, their marketing stuff says that they do. but that is not proof.
proof would be something like independent 3rd party validation tests(as in an independent 3rd party sends them known samples to test - or tests the same samples as the company selling the service and gets the same results).
this should be a basic law for any test company making a profit selling to the public or practitioners. but in fact, it NEVER happens.
as a result patients have no way to know if its a good company or an outright scam with good marketing, In fact, these companies rely on the fact that the world has plenty of people desperate enough to try something unproven. this means they can turn a profit without needing to prove anything. it's a sad state of affairs if you think about it.
In particular new technologies - like next-gen PCR and shotgun sequencing are not mature technology yet are particularly prone to this abuse. it seems each company who does it seems to get differing results.
Ubiome appears to be a good example - their tests came back with totally totally opposite results to another market-leading company. no way to know which was correct or if both were bogus. they have since been shut down for some kind of dubious business practice i think.
Edit - I guess i should edit this to say I am not saying don't use private testing companies at all. more, that if you do use them, go in with your eyes open and do not regard their test outcomes as entirely dependable in their own right.
if possible use their results along with other tests by different methods and by different companies, along with symptom patterns and responses to treatment trials to form a balanced opinion on your diagnosis.
i wish it were more black and white - but the reality is it is not.
[ 08-28-2020, 05:59 AM: Message edited by: Garz ]
Posts: 245 | From UK | Registered: Feb 2020
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