New Genetic Test for Medication Suitability

News
1

I have no idea how valid and helpful this is - but it looks potentially interesting:

MaRS EXCITE and Assurex Health collaborate to Genetic Testing for Medications-related suitabilty to Canadians suffering from depression and schizophrenia

Assurex Canada helps healthcare providers tailor the right treatment to patients using a genetic test called GeneSight, which is displacing the current trial and error approach to prescribing medication for behavioral health conditions.

GeneSight technology is based on combinatorial pharmacogenomics (CPGxTM), a proprietary informatics platform that integrates and weights the importance of multiple genes that affect an individual’s ability to tolerate and respond to 33 Health Canada approved medications commonly prescribed to treat depression and schizophrenia, as well as anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, and other behavioral health conditions.

Within 36 hours of receiving a DNA sample collected with a simple cheek swab, Assurex Canada’s laboratory will send a report to the patient’s healthcare provider that groups medications into the categories of “use as directed,” “use with caution,” and “use with increased caution and with more frequent monitoring” based upon a patient’s genetic profile and the genetic pathways through which medications work in the body.

GeneSight Helps Healthcare Providers, Patients

GeneSight was developed in the Assurex Health clinical laboratory and is based on patented technology licensed from Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. It also incorporates genetic markers discovered by the Center for Mental Health and Addiction (CAMH). GeneSight helps healthcare providers more quickly find an effective treatment for their patients and may save patients from experiencing side effects that often come from taking antidepressants and antipsychotics.

Knowing a patient’s potential reaction to a treatment whether serious weight gain, insomnia or other side-effects can lead to better adherence, reduced relapse and fewer readmissions to the hospital," said Catherine Zahn, President and CEO, CAMH.

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/15/06/p5591718/mars-excite-and-assurex-health-collaborate-to-bring-precision-medicine-#ixzz3d16qu0PT

Company Web Site: http://assurexhealth.com/

1 Like
2

This sounds great!
I might even go back on meds someday if I can use this.
It was so frustrating when my pdoc was happy to prescribe a med to try, only to discover almost ALL of them worked opposite from what the pdoc said.
He got angry and told me I was “upside-down” and doubted anything could help me.

3

I think we should attempt to make meds hip by using language. Told someone on another forum that abilify maintena is delicious, instead of being embarrassed about it

4

I would like to do this test to see if im on the best option.

5

This gives me hope… imagine… getting the right meds the first or even just the second time… that would be amazing…

Not feeling like a lab rat… not having to go through months… maybe years of trial and error…

I hope this gets used more and gets better as time goes on… I’m pretty worried about out growing my meds… if I do… I hope I can find the right combo sooner then later.

1 Like
6

See my new post under NEWS.