Right Drug, Right Patient, Right Dose
Drug-gene testing is referred to as pharmacogenetics (PGx) testing. The test characterizes how your genes affect your body’s response to medications.
Your body has thousands of genes that you inherited from your parents. Genes determine which characteristics you have, such as eye color and blood type. Some genes are responsible for how your body processes medications. Pharmacogenetic tests look for changes or variants in these genes that may determine whether a medication could be an effective treatment for you or whether you could have side effects to a specific medication.
The purpose of pharmacogenetic testing is to find out if a medication is right for you. A saliva sample can help determine:
- Whether a medication may be an effective treatment for you
- What the best dose of a medication is for you
- Whether you could have serious side effects from a medication
Each person needs to have the pharmacogenetic test only once because your genetic makeup does not change over time. Keep track of all your test results and share them with your health care providers.
Who Needs PGx Testing?
Anyone who:
Has multiple drug types prescribed
Is taking medications realted to risk for Thrombosis
Is taking medications with FDA's black box warnings that require/recommend PGx testing
Has a history of poor medication compliance
Has multiple chronic conditions
Requires a higher than standard dosage to achieve the desired result
Has had a severe adverse drug reaction
Has had multiple unsuccessful drug trials
Are geriatric patients
Is taking depression or other psychotropic drugs
Has had unexpected or unexplained responses to medications
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Source - Mayo Clinic/MedX Prime