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Personal DNA kits make their way over-the-counter: medical teams hail new diagnostic tool.

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Until recently, consumers interested in a closer look at their genetic makeup had limited options: purchase a genetic test kit online or participate in a clinical trial offering the test. A new partnership forged between San Diego's largest health care district, Palomar Pomerado Health, and Mountain View-based genetics testing company 23andMe will make test kits available over-the-counter for the first time. Beginning April 27, PPH ExpressCare locations in Escondido and Rancho Penasquitos and Palomar Pomerado Hospital in Poway plan to sell the kits for $399.

Orlando Portale, chief technology officer for PPH, called the new offering part of a move toward personalized medicine, or the structuring of treatments and other medical care based on an individual's unique characteristics.

"Now armed with an individual's genetic profile, we could look at things in a much more individual way," he said.

Eventually, with a patient's permission, Portale said medical researchers could evaluate the data...

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