MALVERN, Pa. - When it comes to their future, many Americans might welcome a crystal ball. When it comes to their health, a new national survey reveals that, surprisingly, they don't just want to know about the good things that the future holds; people want to know about diseases they may be stricken with - even those for which there currently are no cures.

According to the survey, conducted by Directive Analytics for Siemens Medical Solutions, nearly three out of four consumers (72 percent) would take a test that identifies diseases 20 years before symptoms appear.

Furthermore, many consumers would welcome even hard-to-take news. More than one in three (35 percent) indicated that they would want to know now if they would be diagnosed sometime in their life with an incurable disease.
Specifically, nearly half of those surveyed indicated they would want to know if they would be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, despite the current lack of a cure.

The survey, a national online poll of 1,111 adults, was conducted to assess consumer attitudes toward growing scientific capabilities to predict diseases and disease onset - part of the growing field of so-called 'personalized medicine.'

"The objective of science is to open new doors, but the question is always 'do we really want a peek inside the room?'" said Donald Rucker, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer, Siemens Medical Solutions. "In the case of predicting disease, people clearly are willing to live with the emotional burden of knowing about impending disease, and are willing to invest all that they have in pursuing a cure."

The scientific community has advanced a number of diagnostic approaches in recent years, specifically in the field of molecular medicine, which allows physicians to identify diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's at the earliest possible stages - when cells begin to show subtle evidence of disease. Beyond just diagnostics, progress has also been made in identifying genetic pre-dispositions to certain diseases, which allow doctors to take steps to reduce additional risk factors for certain conditions.

"Through advances in medicine and science, we are privy to a wealth of information that not too long ago was unobtainable," said Gary Small, M.D., a Professor with the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and Director of the UCLA Center on Aging. "With this information, patients and their physicians can work together on lifestyle and behavioral modifications to help them achieve longer, better lives."

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