Side effects are a very real consequence to some medication and they could be telling you something you may not know. According to mygeneRX, your genetics have a direct effect on how your body processes medication, this metabolism, in turn, may lead to severe side effects.
A DNA sample of a simple cheek swab can now be accurately profiled to determine your risk of side effects, which will allow you to adjust dosages and avoid certain medications altogether.
According to medical experts, personalised medicine will be the future of medicine as we know it. Personalised medicine is focused on tailoring treatment for the individual. According to mygeneRx, in order for the medication to have the desired effect and then be expelled from the body, proteins called enzymes break down the medication. Some individuals’ enzymes work more efficiently than others – other people don’t possess certain enzymes at all.
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Medications act as inhibitors or inducers of enzymes affecting how the medication works and at what dosages.
According to mygeneRX, simple, non-invasive and affordable genetic testing analyses the genotypes associated with responsiveness to a range of medications, and gives your healthcare practitioner the knowledge to tailor your treatment accordingly. It means greater confidence in taking and prescribing medication.
A body that metabolises certain medications slower may need reduced dosages, whereas a body that has a rapid metabolism might require stronger dosages for the medication to have the desired outcome.
According to mygeneRX, Dr Danny Meyersfeld, a molecular biologist and the founder of DNAlysis biotechnology, says it is critical to understand the genetic make-up of a patient in relation to the prescription of medicine. If healthcare practitioners were to use genetics, here’s what they could learn about prescribing the common painkiller codeine.
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Typically, the body produces an enzyme called CYP2D6 that breaks down the drug into its active ingredient, morphine, which provides pain relief. Yet up to 10% of patients have genetic variants that produce too little of the enzyme, so almost no codeine gets turned into morphine.
“These people get little or no help for their pain. Similarly, about 10% of the population has too many copies of the gene that produces the enzyme, leading to overproduction. For them a little codeine can quickly turn to too much morphine, which can lead to a fatal overdose and side effects such as constipation, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting,” says Meyersfeld.
“Typically, patients with cardiovascular diseases are on different medications such as blood thinners, beta blockers and statins, and with each one, the risk of adverse medicine interaction significantly increases. A genetic test for cardiac patients for drug response has shown to be more effective in guiding treatment decisions or improving outcomes.”
He said mygeneRx tests for more than 150 medications including cardiovascular, psychiatry and pain management. It can be ordered online and the cheek swab is done in the privacy of your own home. According to mygeneRX, it is a simple process with substantial benefits.
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