Have you heard about the gene-drug interaction test to choose Antidepressants? It is described as a simple blood test or cheek swab that can indicate which antidepressants you should or should not take. This is advertised as “personalized medicine” or “precision medicine”. And for anyone who’s been in the (UN) round of antidepressant trials, it sure sounds like a great idea. Here’s the latest research on what you need to know about spending money on medical tests to choose antidepressants.
Drug gene interaction test for selection of antidepressants – What is a pharmacogenetics test?
A genetic makeup test to determine how your body processes drugs is known as a pharmacogenetic test.
according to American Academy of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryA pharmacogenetic test can tell your doctor:
- How quickly the drug is processed
- How effective is the drug treatment?
A pharmacogenetic test can’t tell your doctor:
- What drug will work most efficiently?
- Whether the drug will cause side effects or not
- what or what Side effects medication that may cause
Pharmacogenetic testing and antidepressant selection testing
Doing a few online searches on pharmacogene testing yields results primarily from companies trying to sell it. There is a lot of money to be had in testing when it comes to medication. And who doesn’t love the idea of personalized medicine? What would you pay to try just one drug for three, four or more? These factors often make selling easy.
And remember that pharmacogenetic tests are widely marketed in Psychiatry for doctors Just as it is for patients. The same kinds of promises are made to doctors as they are made to patients. And if a doctor can help a patient with the first drug instead of the fifth, he will, of course, sign up.
But the question is, does genetic makeup, drug interaction testing, and drug gene testing actually help people with mental illness?
Do medical tests to select antidepressants help people with mental illness?
This is the question that David Oslin, MD, et al., asked to answer in the PRIME Care Randomized Clinical Trial. And in July, they published their findings regarding major depressive disorder inEffect of pharmacogenetic testing for drug–gene interactions on drug selection and symptom relief in major depressive disordersPosted in Journal of the American Medical Association.
This was a randomized, hands-on clinical trial comparing treatment guided by pharmacogenetic testing versus usual care. Participants included 676 physicians and 1,944 patients. At first, there seemed to be some increasing calm in the gene-pharmacological testing group. However, at week 24, there were no differences between the two groups.
In short, luxury and expensive gene-drug interaction tests did not reveal bigger forgiveness Rate for those who take antidepressant To treat major depressive disorder. (I wrote here About the claims made by the blood test that they can’t back up.)
Does pharmacogenetics help anyone? Should you get an antidepressant genetic test?
The above relates to antidepressants for people with depression, so, of course, this cannot necessarily be generalized to all types of mental illness; Pharmacogenetics testing is also done for diseases outside of mental illness. I would say if you are looking for pharmacogenetic testing for any disease, you should be skeptical and make sure there are actual benefits before you put your hard-earned money to the test.
And when it comes to drug gene testing for people with mental illness, I’m going to tell you what I’ve been telling people for a long time: If you have the money and you want to spend it, go ahead and take the test. It probably won’t harm you. However, if you do not have the money, Don’t fall victim to marketing. He promises something he cannot achieve. We’re in the bud when it comes to understanding medications, mental illness, and the brain. Personalized mental illness medicine is just a dream now. I really hope we get to a place where a simple blood test or cheek swab tells us what we need to know about treating mental illness, but that’s definitely not the reality we live in today.
photo by University of Michigan.
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