AMD & Texas Hold'em

Hello Everyone, Dr. Steve Ferrucci here talking AMD & Texas Hold’em. 

I like to play poker, specifically Texas Hold’em. I am not very good, which is probably why my friends keep inviting me and taking my money!  But the concept of Texas Hold’em reminds me of the importance of genetic testing.  Let me explain….

For those of you who don’t know, in Texas Hold’em  you are dealt two cards called the hole. There is nothing you can do about those cards, it’s just luck, whatever you get you get. You can get a bad hand, or a good hand. That’s your genetics. You can be delivered a good set of genes, or a bad set. You have no control over that.

However, how you play those cards will help determine whether you win or lose a given hand. That’s your environmental factors such as smoking, poor diet, UV protection, increased BMI etc.

So if you are dealt a good hand and play it well, your chance of winning, in this analogy, not developing advanced AMD, is good. However, if you are dealt a good hand, and squander it by playing or living badly, your chance of a good outcome is reduced.

On the flip side, if you are dealt a poor hand (poor genetics), but play that hand well (e.g., don’t smoke, eat heathy etc.) you just may win and not develop advanced AMD. Of course, the worst case is you are dealt a poor hand and play it poorly, which may certainly lead to a poor outcome. So by knowing the hand your are dealt (genetics) and how you play that hand (environmental risk factors), will ultimately decide one’s chances for developing advanced AMD  or not.

But the first step is knowing the hand you are dealt….

Thanks again for reading my thoughts around AMD. For more information on having the right testing solution for your patients for macular degeneration testing, contact Visible Genomics.