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Is Your Medicine Right for Your Metabolism?

People can respond to drugs very differently. A medication that brings relief for some patients might show no benefit at all in others, or even cause harmful side effects. A growing array of genetic tests is designed to help predict how people are likely to respond to many common medications, from antidepressants and antihistamines to pain relievers and blood thinners. The tests, which are controversial, look for tiny variations in genes that determine how fast or slow we metabolize medications. Because of such gene variations, codeine, frequently prescribed to relieve pain, has little effect on as much as 20% of the population, while 2% of people have such a strong reaction that a normal…

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 Experts push for genetic testing to personalise drug prescriptions

Pharmacogenomic testing could save the NHS money in the long term and reduce the risks of side-effects

 Will A Medicine Work For You? A Simple Test Might Tell - Pharmacogenetics

A simple test using a swab of cells from the inside of your cheek can dramatically improve your medical treatment. The test can predict whether a drug will help, if you need a different dosage, or if you are at risk of severe side effects.

Articles of Interest

A systematic review of pharmacogenetic testing to guide antipsychotic treatment

Pharmacogenomics could optimize antipsychotic treatment by preventing adverse drug reactions, improving treatment efficacy or relieving the cost burden on the healthcare system. Here we conducted a systematic review to investigate whether pharmacogenetic testing in individuals undergoing antipsychotic treatment influences clinical or economic outcomes.

Can at-home DNA tests predict how you’ll respond to your medications? Pharmacists explain the risks and benefits of pharmacogenetic testing

Most PGx test results stay valid throughout a patient’s life, and retesting is not needed unless additional genes or variants need to be evaluated. As more research on gene variants is conducted, prescribing recommendations may be updated. Overall, genetic information from direct-to-consumer PGx tests can help you collaborate with health care professionals to select more effective medications with a lower risk of side effects.

DNA Tests For Psychiatric Drugs Are Controversial But Some Insurers Are Covering Them

As the field of genetic testing to help diagnose and treat disease grows, medicine has embraced certain tests, such as that for the BRCA gene linked to breast cancer. But many researchers say there is not enough evidence tying genetic variants to better outcomes for most psychiatric medications.

Gene Test Promises to Find Right Drug, Right Dose

The promise of pharmacogenetic testing is that people get the right dose of the right drug. Sometimes the tests show that a drug doesn't work. For example, codeine, a pain reliever, cannot be broken down by seven percent of whites and two percent of blacks. These people get the side effects and none of the pain relief.

How your genes influence what medicines are right for you

However, in the future it is expected that an individual’s entire genome (all three billion letters of their genetic code) will be defined and stored for use throughout their lifetime. When that happens, using genetic information to inform decisions about the right drug and the right dose will likely involve computerized approaches that marry the genetic data with knowledge about drugs and genes, to lead to a personalized treatment recommendation. We are probably at least a decade or more from this reality.

Pharmacogenomic Testing: Clinical Evidence and Implementation Challenges

Pharmacogenomics can enhance patient care by enabling treatments tailored to genetic make-up and lowering risk of serious adverse events. As of June 2019, there are 132 pharmacogenomic dosing guidelines for 99 drugs and pharmacogenomic information is included in 309 medication labels. Recently, the technology for identifying individual-specific genetic variants (genotyping) has become more accessible. Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a cost-effective option for genotyping patients at many pharmacogenomic loci simultaneously, and guidelines for implementation of these data are available from organizations such as the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) and the Dutch Pharmacogenetics Working Group (DPWG).

Pharmacogenomics

Pharmacogenomics is an important example of the field of precision medicine, which aims to tailor medical treatment to each person or to a group of people. Pharmacogenomics looks at how your DNA affects the way you respond to drugs. In some cases, your DNA can affect whether you have a bad reaction to a drug or whether a drug helps you or has no effect. Pharmacogenomics can improve your health by helping you know ahead of time whether a drug is likely to benefit you and be safe for you to take. Knowing this information can help your healthcare provider find medicine that will work best for you.

Pharmacogenomics explains why some medicines may not work for you

Pharmacogenomics is the study of drugs (pharmakon- the Greek word for poison or drug) and the genome. These two come together to explain why about 50% of medicines don’t work in some people and why they can sometimes be harmful, or even cause death. It’s our genetic makeup that’s often the cause.

Saving Lives With Tailor-Made Medication

Though pharmacogenetics is controversial and not yet widely done, Dr. Relling, 46, travels the country advocating its use. At St. Jude, patients with leukemia are now routinely given genetic tests to determine their individual response to a medication. “We’ve seen it save lives here,” she said. “That’s made me a believer.”

The landscape of pharmacogenetic testing in a US managed care population

Pharmacogenetics is a component of personalized medicine that studies the impact of genetic variation on interindividual variability in drug disposition, response, and adverse effects.

The Problem with Pharmacogenetic Testing

The companies that provide pharmacogenetic testing each look at a panel of genes and determine which version, or variant, of those genes you possess. Your report will include not just a list of your genetic variants, but also a description of your likely gene-drug interactions that then guides your doctor’s therapeutic decisions. And that is where the problem lies.

Resources

ClarityX

At some point, we've all felt the struggle of trying to get it right with our medications. It can mean the difference between getting better or endless trial and error. We believe there's a better way when it comes to the process of medication selection. A unique approach as individual as you are, using your genetics as a guide. We're on a mission to do just that using the proven science of pharmacogenetics. Today we are committed to delivering on our promise by providing convenient, easily accessible at-home testing options.

Genesight

We know the process of finding medications for mental health conditions like depression, anxiety or ADHD can be time-consuming and debilitating. The GeneSight® test may help.

Inagene

Your genetic makeup is a roadmap to how you respond to medications and lifestyle choices, from pain relievers and nutrition to treatments for cancer and mental illness.